The Last Will and Testament of Uzumaki Naruto
by BlushingLotus
Summary: Naively manipulated into believing his death may be imminent, Naruto starts to enforce his will while he's still alive… much to Sasuke and Sakura's dismay. Slightly AU since Sasuke has returned. Rated for language and lemon SasuSaku
1. Part 1

**Author's Notes:**

**In one of the character data books, it states that Tenten enjoys fortune telling. Thus, this fic was born. I've exaggerated her little hobby for the sake of humor, of course. **

**I decided to make Naruto a more predominant character since he's been such a perfect sweetie in the last chapters of the manga. I seriously just want to smoosh his sweet face. However, Sasuke and Sakura will be the main characters as well. Of course, SasuSaku is major part of this story ;)**

**Before anyone comments on this, I have based Sasuke's personality more on his first season self. Since the Sasuke of the recent chapters of the manga wouldn't really be chillin' around Konoha. ((There's still hope he will someday!))**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

**Please enjoy the fiction! **

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**

_Once upon a time, there was an idiot. _

At this very moment in time, Naruto Uzumaki was 19 years, 7 months, 23 days, 14 hours, and 6 minutes old. He was a happy young man, and rightfully so for many reasons.

The first reason was that the sun was shining through his bright blonde hair, warming his shoulders and backside. The birds were chirping above him in the tree tops, while children ran about his village in play. The day was simply gorgeous.

The second reason was that he had recently been promoted to the rank of Jounin. That much closer to his lifetime goal of Hokage, the young nin felt victory.

But the final, and most important reason Naruto Uzumaki was joyful was that all the people he loved were about to be united over the food he loved. Yes, his best friend, his gal pal, his strange friend, and his former sensei were gathering around a table at Ichiraku's. This meal was a casual, friendly lunch. His reluctant best friend had even agreed to arrive at the meal, despite returning from a strenuous mission only a few hours ago.

Naruto's life was simple, fulfilling, and pleasant.

Making his way past a local tea house, he saw Team Guy gathered to share a pot of tea. The three members sat outside in the grass, slowly sipping away at the soothing drink. By the looks of their gear, they were headed out on a mission soon. Youthfulness, however, demanded that all members of the team be relaxed, refreshed, and empowered before embarking on a quest.

The three sat in a circle, Lee and Neji's eyes fixed upon their female teammate. Her eyes wrinkled in amusement, Naruto watched as Tenten laid out four cards before Lee.

"Ready for your fortune, Lee?" Tenten asked playfully.

"Yes, Tenten-chan. I am prepared to accept my fate!"

Naruto paused at the scene, not quite sure what to make of it. Tenten flipped the cards over. Chattering quickly, she told Lee about this upcoming week. Lee reacted dramatically to his fate, of course. Naruto, however, was unable to make out of the reaction was based on good or bad feelings. Noticing the blonde peering at them intently, Tenten waved over Naruto.

"Naruto-kun! How are you doing this morning?"

"Uhhhh…. What are you doing?" Naruto asked, somewhat bluntly. He had always believed Team Guy to be the strangest team on earth and the tarot cards on the ground seemed to confirm his theory.

"Tenten-chan likes to read our fortunes every week! She's impressively accurate," Lee began, regarding Naruto with a look of strong belief. Neji looked away from the scene, subtlety indicating that he bought into all Tenten's readings, but was too proud to agree aloud. Lee continued his preaching. "Last week she predicted Kakashi's latest injury!

"Oh yeah?" Naruto asked, scratching the back of his head. _Weirdos. _

"If you'd like, I can give you your weekly fortune," Tenten commented to Naruto with a wink. "Could be fun…"

"Yeah, sure. I got an escort mission coming up anyway. The guy is supposed to be a really huge pain…I'd like to know how that goes," Naruto said with a shrug. Sitting down, he watched Tenten lay out four cards.

Three cards were aligned into a horizontal line. Below the center card, lay a single card. Tenten explained to him that from left to right corresponded with past, present, and future. The final card below the other three was the outcome card. The past, present, and future cards were said to combine to create the inevitable, which allowed the reader to understand one's future. Naruto stared at the process, slightly entertained and slightly excited. He wondered if such nonsense actually worked.

The card furthest to the left was flipped over first.

"Your past card is the Knight of Wands," Tenten explained. "The knight of wands has dual representation. This card characterizes a person, place or thing."

"_Gee, that's pretty vague. No wonder they always think she's right_," Naruto thought to himself.

"On one hand, this card is full of vitality. He's daring and willing to invest himself completely. He's charming, passionate, and sexy. On the other hand, the knight is reckless and constantly in trouble. This card has confidence, but is also a bit cocky."

"Your past card is about you then, Naruto!" Lee exclaimed, anxiously leaning forward. Naruto raised an eyebrow. He had been using the expression more frequently since Sasuke's return. The pair would spend hours together on end, resulting in Sasuke's mannerisms occasionally being picked up by Naruto. Of course, none of Naruto's expressions had rubbed off on Sasuke. No amount of time spent together would ever accomplish _that._

Tenten continued with the fortune reading.

"Your card for the present is the X of Cups," She showed a picture of several golden cups to Naruto. He leaned forward in mild interest. "This card means there will be a search for fulfillment marked with success. A secure state has been reached in your life, currently. You are filled with content."

Naruto nodded his head excitedly, agreeing with the card completely. Why, this very morning he had been so happy he whistled on his way down the street. Her words struck him as rather remarkably accurate for his current mood.

"Go on," He urged Tenten. Suddenly, he was buying into the reading completely.

At that moment, Neji's head tilted. He was aware of a special sound in the distance. A sound that could only be Guy-sensei arriving for their mission. A wild laugh echoed across the buildings.

"Could you stall him, please?" Tenten asked Neji and Lee with a friendly smile. She was more than familiar with the sound of her sensei's bizarre, obnoxious chuckle. "I want to finish Naruto-kun's fortune before we go."

"Yeah! Yeah! Let her finish it!" Naruto advocated with a grin.

Neji nodded to his female teammate as he stood. Lee jumped up dramatically, giving Tenten a silent salute. Both members took off in order to perform some kind of distraction technique. Left alone with Naruto, Tenten leaned forward to flip over the third card.

"Ahh! The Future card is The Fool!" She murmured with excitement.

"Tenten! It's time to leave!" Guy-sensei called. Obviously, whatever method Lee and Neji had attempted did not work.

"Just a second!" She cried over her shoulder. Rapidly, she turned back to Naruto and blabbed the meaning of The Fool card. "The Fool means you are about to learn from experience. You will embark on a journey of self-awareness!"

Naruto nodded anxiously, feeling pressured to know the outcome of his journey. Unfortunately, Guy-sensei appeared behind the twin bun girl. He clasped his hand roughly onto her shoulder.

"Tenten! Playing cards at a time of a mission? Oh how you have fallen!"

"-But!"

"Now, now. I demand you leave with us at once! We cannot delay our fate! We cannot delay our destiny!"

"-But sir, I was!"

"Youth cannot wait for silly games, Tenten! Youth must act! Youth must do!"

Roughly, Guy pulled Tenten by the arm dragging her away from Naruto, scolding her the entire way.

"HEY! Wait a minute! I want to know my outcome!" Naruto cried, trying to grab their attention. However, he was completely unsuccessful. The team was long gone. Sighing with frustration, Naruto pulled at his hair.

"Awww man!" He whined to no one in particular.

Disappointedly, he turned over his outcome card. Maybe the meaning would be blatantly obvious, and he wouldn't need Tenten. Tragically, it was.

His eyes gawked in wide confusion and shock. The card proudly displayed a single word, indicating the outcome for his week.

Death. 

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**

Team 7, minus their blonde member and a former root member, had gathered into a booth in the ramen stand. Sasuke sat beside Sakura, rubbing his eyes occasionally in exhaustion. Kakashi sat across from the pair, smiling as Sakura prodded the details of Sasuke's mission from him. From what they could gather from the quiet man, he had been somewhat traumatized.

"I don't understand… It was a simple information gathering mission, wasn't it? Weren't you just filling in for Shikamaru?" Sakura questioned, nudging Sasuke into explanation. He let out a long sigh.

"I was unable to sleep during the mission. There were other factors that were exhausting."

"Like?"

"Ino."

Kakashi let out a low chuckle while eyeing his wrist that Sakura had recently wrapped for him. His mind, obviously, had traveled into more pornographic territory.

"What do you mean _exhausting?" _Sakura asked with a raised brow.

"She was constantly molesting me."

"Molesting you? Like how?"

"She broke an ankle and refused walk. Of course, _I_ had to carry her," Sasuke explained with a hint of a whine in his baritone voice.

"You know she's trained in healing, right?" Sakura interrupted. Sasuke's eyes darkened in response.

"No…" Sasuke grumbled while rubbing his temples.

"What else happened?"

"She kept using that stupid shadow technique and making me hold her body."

Both Sakura and Kakashi chuckled in a more pronounced manner at this. Sasuke frowned in response. Thankfully, Sakura and Kakashi would be distracted by Sai's dramatic entrance into the stand. Settling beside Kakashi, the awkward nin stared straight ahead at Sasuke and Sakura. His wide eyes were reminiscent of a fish. Bluntly, Sai directed the conversation to the first thing on his mind.

"You look uglier than usual," he directed boldly to Sakura. "I am going to assume you have been busy working."

"I have," Sakura answered shortly, practically seething. Sasuke observed the surroundings, making sure no one would be damaged in the inevitable cross fire between Sai and Sakura. Once, he had considered asking Sai to stop bugging her so much, but decided that effort would have been in vain. Nevertheless, he grew tired of Sai provoking Sakura's temper and removing all of her patience. Her fiery attitude was amusing to Sasuke initially, but with time he decided that he liked her best when she was pacified.

Naruto swept into the Ramen shop, interrupting Sai's future punishment for his rudeness. Sasuke felt a bit thankful for the change of pace and Naruto's arrival. Before Sai or Naruto had arrived, Sasuke had placed their orders in hopes to speed up this lunch. He seriously needed some sleep.

Sakura, being one of the most observant of the group, immediately saw a strain on Naruto. He seemed to be struggling with some inner turmoil. His eyebrows were furrowed together while his lips were set to a line. This was extremely unusual, since there were few things that could distract Naruto from the joys of ramen. She watched as Naruto pulled a chair to the end of the booth and settled into his seat.

"Have any of you ever have your fortune read?" Naruto asked, directing the topic to the trouble on his mind. Sakura thought with some dismay that teaching the men of her team to transition into conversation would be useless. They always insisted on speaking their mind immediately, regardless of what other people had been talking about. That is, except for Sasuke. Getting Sasuke involved in conversation was like pulling teeth. Regardless of the poor manners of her teammates, Sakura decided to answer Naruto.

"Oh, a few times I guess. Just by Tenten though," she answered with a shrug. "Why?"

"She just read mine," Naruto answered while frowning. "But… her prediction was weird."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know… my outcome card said death."

There was a short pause in conversation while Sakura considered if she had ever been given the death card. The readings had happened pretty sparingly in her life. Usually she only was informed that little change was coming her way. However, she could not recall ever seeing a Death card in the stack.

"I've never seen anything like that before," She answered honestly. "But I really doubt the card means literal death."

"Yeah, I wasn't really worried about that," Naruto lied. "I figured it meant something cool though… it's gotta be pretty rare, right? I just wanted to know since I've gotten it and all."

"I'm sure it does mean physical death," Sai butted in. "You work in a high risk profession, and you are clumsy."

"HEY!" Naruto shouted, flicking his finger into the air. "I am not a klutz!"

"But you are an idiot," Sasuke grumbled moodily. Distracted, Naruto turned his gaze to his avenger friend.

"You know, when I look at you Sasuke, I can practically see the thunderclouds forming above your head," Naruto snapped with a smirk. Sasuke returned the banter, unable to resist a fight with Naruto. Especially when he was annoyed enough to want to beat the crap out of something.

"At least I'm not a pussy about a deck of cards."

"Hey! I am not bein' a pussy! I was just curious!"

"Whatever."

"Don't you whatever me, teme!"

"Idiot."

Sensing a possible fight about to break out, Kakashi stretched and distracted the pair of males. If it wasn't Sakura and Sai being volatile, it was Naruto and Sasuke.

"So Naruto," Kakashi interrupted. "Want to hear about how I hurt my wrist? It's a cute story."

Sakura smiled as she watched her sensei expertly calm the fires between Naruto and Sasuke. Kakashi really was an expert in the field in his own way, and sometimes she felt as if she were his apprentice. Team 7 continued their dinner. All the while, Naruto pondered the card in his pocket. Seemingly, it was weighing him down.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**

Despite saying that he knew he wasn't going to die, Naruto felt a twisting feeling churn through his stomach. He couldn't describe why, but he felt a serious apprehension.

During lunch, he had asked if anyone wanted to spar that afternoon. Sasuke looked as if he was considering saying yes for half of a second, but his exhaustion outweighed his desire to compete with his lifelong rival. Sakura was busy, as always, studying and working at the hospital. Kakashi gave some shady explanation for why he couldn't, but Naruto felt like his sensei was really up to something _else. _Sai, of course, followed suit of the rest of the group. Not that Sai was really busy, but lately he would watch others for social cues.

Too uneasy to go home and rest, Naruto wandered across the village's main streets. He considered buying some groceries, but decided to live off of what he still had for awhile. As he wandered aimlessly, he ran into a pretty, young blonde.

"Watch it, Naruto!" Ino exclaimed, but not in a seriously angry tone. Peering around Naruto, she searched for his common companion when he was walking through the village. As if reading her mind, Naruto answered her.

"Sasuke isn't with me."

"Drat!" Ino pouted. There was an awkward pause as the pair starred at one another.

"Soo…." Ino drawled in attempt to quell the silence. "What's goin' on?"

"Just taking a walk, I guess."

"What's bothering you?" Ino asked, catching quickly onto a hit of juicy gossip before her. She could smell out news faster than Akamaru could sniff out a dead bird. Having a weak moment, Naruto cut right to the point in his mind.

"Do you know much about tarot cards? Tenten starting giving me a reading… then she took off for a mission. I got my final card, but I don't know what it means at all."

Ino smiled wide.

"This is your lucky day! I have her do mine every week!"

"Really?" Naruto asked, relief a little evident in his voice.

"Yeah. It's really fun, huh?" Ino began to prattle. "I've made Sakura to it a couple of times with me too…. And sometimes my teammates. I never thought that stuff was true, but Tenten seems to get it right every time! It's so bizarre… she should retire from being a ninja and just do readings for a living. I totally would pay her."

"Uh huh," Naruto nodded, trying to move Ino along. "So, do you know what the death card means?"

Ino's face fell.

"Asuma-sensei got that one before.." Ino trailed off, her voice suddenly changed completely. She had accepted her teacher's death long ago, but sometimes talking about the situation made her a little gloomy. "I made him do it as a joke… and then a few days later… It was all really strange."

Ino looked downward, rubbing her eye lightly.

"Why do you ask?" she questioned without looking up.

"Umm… that's supposed to be my outcome card for the week."

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**

Haruno Sakura blew her long pink bangs from her face with annoyance. If she could ever get enough spare time to care, she would have shortened her hairstyle long ago. However, she didn't have the time, and haircuts were something that just could not be rushed. Normally, she preferred her hair's ends to reach her jaw line with bangs that framed her face. Enough time had passed since her last trim that her bangs brushed against her cheek bones. Her ends barely kissed above her shoulders, threatening to touch them any day now.

She'd have to cut it soon or people would start up with the "I'm excited you're growing your hair out" talks.

Smiling as she made her way past a few nurses, Sakura slowly made her way down the hospital halls to her 'office'. In reality, the office was a closet size room that had no foreseeable purpose in the hospital. Years ago when she was fourteen, Sakura had claimed the space as a study room for various scrolls Tsunade or Shizune would assign to her. Today, she was reading through some scrolls that discussed venoms of the Land of Waves. The scroll was pretty cryptic about the cures, since the poisons were not researched too thoroughly yet. However, Sakura was forced to obtain as much information as possible. Battle often forced her to rely on obscure knowledge.

Opening the door to the small room, she was surprised to see Naruto sitting on the top of her desk.

"Naruto-kun!" She announced with some confusion. "What are you doing here?"

She watched as Naruto rubbed the back of his head, a trait that meant he was pretty uncomfortable with what he was about to ask.

"It's kind of embarrassing," Naruto began, a sheepish smile on his face. "I know it sounds stupid."

Setting the scroll onto a shelf, Sakura turned to face her friend. She gave him a reassuring look and patted his knee.

"You can tell me anything. I promise not to judge you."

Reassured, Naruto smiled widely at his long time friend.

"Well… Ino and I were talking…" He began slowly. Sakura knew that sentence could only mean trouble. "And… she mentioned that the death card means physical death. It happened with Asuma-sensei."

Sakura's mouth fell open. She had never heard something so utterly ridiculous. Not sensing her blatant disapproval, Naruto continued with his speech.

"And I'm kind of concerned. I was hoping you'd give me a full body physical? You know.. make sure I don't have cancer or something?"

"Naruto, that's the stupidest thing you have ever asked me." Sakura answered with wide eyes. "You just had your mandatory physical two months ago!"

"You promised not to judge!"

"Yeah, but I didn't know you were going to say something so silly!"

"Ugh! You make a terrible doctor you know that?" Naruto replied in frustration.

Sakura tapped her foot at him in annoyance.

"Naruto, you know I am always busy around here. You should be helping my work load, not hindering it!"

"I have a serious problem here, woman!"

"No, you don't! You're only problem is that you are being gullible! People don't die because Tenten gave them a card that says Death!"

Both friends starred at one another, panting slightly in frustration. Trying her best to be more gentle and feminine, Sakura calmed her inner self. She attempted to be more empathetic to her patient, as all good medical professionals should.

"Okay, what makes you think this is a legitimate concern?" Sakura asked, controlling her breathing.

"Well… everybody! I mean you said it was right! Ino said her's were always right! And it happened to Asuma! And Kakashi got that injury they said he was going to get! I mean it's really stupid and freaky, but what if Tenten is like divinely blessed or something and we just don't know it?" Naruto sputtered out rapidly.

Sakura starred at him.

"You know you sound insane, right?" She questioned without bothering to hide her frustration. Naruto threw his hands up into the air.

"Fine! If you won't help me, I'll find someone that will!"

And with that, Naruto stormed out of her office.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**

Uchiha Sasuke didn't like many things. In fact, on any given day he could only name five single things he actually liked.

He didn't particularly like the village he lived in. He just tolerated it for a few specific reasons. He didn't like sweets or any kind of unhealthy food in general. He especially didn't like funny movies or the situations that came with them. He loathed loudmouths (except for one) and people who made vast assumptions.

But he did like _one_ thing in particular at this very moment.

The blessed item of his affections was his bed.

His bed was large enough for him to stretch out entirely and still fit a second person. Not that he ever wanted to share his bed. He would much rather sleep alone for the rest of his life, or so he believed. The bed's mattress was soft enough to cradle his body, yet firm enough to support his tired back after missions. Covered with soft white sheets, the bed was soft against his cheek as he drifted off to sleep.

If Sasuke were the kind of man to smile, he would be grinning from ear to ear about the reunion he was sharing with his bed. However, he wasn't one for smiles. Instead, he let out a contented sigh. His mind eased itself from worries. Slowly, he drifted off into the beginning stages of sleep.

Nevertheless, the cursed phone screeched into his ears forcing him from his own bliss. With some aggression, Sasuke rolled over to remove the phone from its receiver.

"What?" He hissed into the phone.

"Hey, you need to not get pissy. I've got some serious news," the melancholy voice of Naruto responded to him. Sitting up, Sasuke waited for the news. Naruto inhaled a deep breath. "I know this sounds crazy, but I think I am going to die in seven days."

"You didn't seriously wake me up for this, did you?"

"Ino says it's real!"

"Ino's an idiot!"

"You say that about everybody!"

Sasuke let out a long, unhappy breath.

"Just tell me why the fuck you are bothering me…" Sasuke muttered.

"I want you to help me with my will. There's stuff I wanna get done, just in case I do die. I figured you'd know a lot since you have so much experience with death?"

"Fine," Sasuke growled. "Just go away."

Slamming the phone back into the receiver, Sasuke grumbled about how much he hated everyone. With time, Sasuke rekindled his love affair with his bed. Unbeknownst to him, he had enabled Naruto's paranoia in the worst way possible.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**

**Author's Notes:**

**This piece was supposed to be only 7 parts, but I think it may end up being around eight. The next chapters are far more exciting. ;) This prologue was more to set down the base of the plotline, rather than entertain entirely. **

**As a side note, the layout of the tarot cards I found on the internet. Most card layouts are a lot more intricate, but I picked the simplest one I could find for story convenience. All of my information on the cards is based on the internet, so I apologize for the inevitable inaccuracy. Of course, the true meaning of the Death card will be shrouded in mystery. ;)**

**Please review! ^_^ It really helps me get off my ass and work on this! Lol**


	2. Part 2

**Author's Notes:**

**Thank you so much to all who fav'd and reviewed the prologue! I am thrilled with all of the positive responses! 3**

_**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**_

_Since the idiot was easily manipulated by the card game, he forced his closest friend to go to his home. There, the idiot began to write his will. _

Naruto eyed Sasuke with amusement. Having Sasuke over to his place was always a treat.

Living alone since he was a small child had a strong toll on Sasuke. Most people would state that it was noticeable from his anti-social nature and his tendency to hate everyone. Only after years of bonding would Sasuke even acknowledge an individual as a friend. There were other factors, however, that made his lonely childhood alter his behavior. For one, he was an extremely clean individual.

After the death of his entire family, Sasuke was left alone to care for his home. Out of love and respect towards what did remain from the clan, Sasuke took upkeep to be extremely important.

His entire home was organized. Perfectly. Every single item he owned had a place, and that place was kept spotless. All of his hangers in his closet were matching wooden hangers. All of his boxers were perfectly folded, able to fit faultlessly into their allotted drawers. Most importantly, the food in his refrigerator was color coordinated based upon food group. His teammates would often debate on how the busy Uchiha was able to maintain his complicated system. The entire Uchiha compound looked flawless, despite there only being one Uchiha to care for the property. His habits were entirely a mystery. Sasuke's real secret to property upkeep was his family's ninja cats, but team seven remained completely unaware of the animals' existence. Perhaps if they did know, Sasuke's seemingly boundless energy would become more realistic.

Regardless, his extreme tidiness spilled over into other people's lives. Whenever he was inside Sakura or Naruto's apartment, he was known to pick up. This shamed Sakura endlessly to the point that she almost didn't allow Sasuke into her home for quite some time. Her place was always kept fairly neat, but there were always a few odds and ends Sasuke would find to fix. Naruto, on the other hand, loved to hear that Sasuke would be heading over to his place.

While Sasuke worked in the kitchen, throwing away old food and organizing new food, Naruto sprawled out across the living room floor. Naruto's apartment wasn't necessarily huge, but it did suit him well. The kitchen and living room were an open area with an opening arc that led to a short hallway. At the end of the hallway, there were two doors. The one on the left led to Naruto's bedroom while the one on the right led to the bathroom.

Not ready to face the inevitable mess in the bathroom, Sasuke started on Naruto's kitchen. He really didn't want to be cleaning the entire place, but his obsessive compulsive nature couldn't stand to sit back while chaos ensued around him. As Sasuke busied himself in the kitchen, Naruto ran the pen along the paper.

"So, how do these things start out again?"

Sasuke poured out some old orange juice down Naruto's kitchen sink.

"I, Uzumaki Naruto, being of sound mind and body have written this will," Sasuke recited slowly while moving to the next juice container in the refrigerator. Naruto grinned at the scene. Sasuke, arguably one of the most dangerous and powerful ninjas of the village, was acting as a domestic. Naruto giggled to himself a little as he wondered what Sasuke would look like wearing an apron. As if sensing Naruto's thoughts, Sasuke gave Naruto a death glare.

"I refuse to be surrounded by filth," Sasuke hissed slowly.

"You're insane," Naruto retorted.

The blonde shrugged and stared into the notebook he had found under a pile of stuff in his room. He was hoping to drag out this will writing process as long as possible. If he did, maybe Sasuke would be able to sweep through the entire apartment.

Naruto doodled onto the paper, drawing dogs and cats fighting each other. Time slowly passed with little progression. Sensing the lack of work going on, Sasuke called to him from the kitchen.

"Are you finished? It shouldn't take you this long."

"What do you mean am I finished?" Naruto cried, sitting up dramatically. "I have to come to terms with my mortality and stuff… then tell people my wishes for them…and crap like that!"

"The purpose of a will is to divide your assets. You do not have that many assets to divide."

Naruto fell backwards to lie down.

"Well, I think that's boring and stupid. I'm going to just do my own thing!"

"You usually do," Sasuke grumbled sarcastically.

As Naruto lay on his back, he wondered if Sasuke had ever bothered to write a will. Naruto knew that Sasuke had inherited quite a bit of property and cash from the clan. Well, he didn't really know that, but it was the only logical outcome. From what Naruto understood, the Uchiha clan was wealthy to begin with. To take that wealth and distribute it to one person had to result in Sasuke being loaded. No wonder Sasuke could be easily persuaded into paying for Sakura and Naruto's meals at the ramen stand.

Sakura, however, told Naruto that she believed Sasuke did that out of guilt for his deeds against them in the past. Sasuke wasn't one for apologizing, so Sakura alleged he would find subtle ways of saying he had regrets. That is, if the arrogant bastard was capable of having regrets.

"Hey, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, watching as the Uchiha cast a glance his way. "Do you have a will?"

"Aa."

Naruto assumed that was Sasuke speak for yes.

"Am I in it?" Naruo asked with a grin.

"No."

Naruto let out a long sigh of disappointment.

"You're no fun, teme."

"Hn."

Naruto then went into a mode of thought he had never explored before. He wondered how his loved ones would function without him. Who would carry on his daily tasks? Despite what many believe, Naruto had an intricate system of people he cared for. He was responsible for several people's emotional health and well being. Many people relied on him, especially Sasuke and Sakura. If he were gone from the world, who would keep Sasuke from rampaging around and depression? Who would keep Sakura in light spirits?

Naruto watched Sasuke work, a plan slowly forming inside of his mind. Coming to what he believed to be a sound conclusion, Naruto rose to approach Sasuke. Once he was standing beside him, Naruto's hand grabbed Sasuke's shoulder and rested it there for a moment. Sasuke gave Naruto an expression that could only be read as, 'what-the-fuck?'.

"Take it off or I'll break it off," Sasuke warned.

"Hey, hey. Just listen," Naruto asked. Sapphire eyes met obsidian.

"Sasuke… if I die in a week," Naruto began slowly. He swallowed a lump in his throat. "I want you to take care of Sakura."

Sasuke raised a single brow.

"You want me to kill her?" Sasuke asked.

"What? NO!" Naruto screamed with eyes wide in horror, throwing his hands into the air. "This isn't some cheap gangster movie! I want you to look after her!"

"Why?" Sasuke said, looking confused. Being asked to kill Sakura hadn't confused him, but being asked to play caretaker had.

"Because _someone_ will have to! She's going to be really upset and need a good friend."

"Make Kakashi do it."

"What? No! I asked you to! You need to do it, okay?"

"Why me?" Sasuke complained while crossing his arms.

"Because I had to put up with her crying when you left! Like _all_ the time! Pay back is a bitch, Uchiha!" Naruto said while poking at Sasuke's cheek. "And for the record, would you kill Sakura?"

Sasuke paused and thought it over. In the past, he had attempted to end her life two or three times, but now he was a different man. Well, a slightly different man.

"Probably not."

"Probably?" Naruto screamed. "What the hell kind of an asshole are you?"

Sasuke shrugged, turning back to his compulsive organizing.

"Hey! I'm talking to you asshole! You need to do it okay?"

"No."

"Come on!"

"She is not my problem."

As if knowing she was being discussed, Sakura arrived at Naruto's apartment. His ears perked up at the sound of her special knock on his door. Happy to hear the sound of more company, Naruto bound to the door to let her in.

Naruto had his own effects of growing up alone. He was always trying to fill a lonely void within himself. The sentiment was hard to describe, but he felt the most safe when he was surrounded by friends. The feeling of safety increased tenfold whenever Sasuke and Sakura were with him. He knew that the three of them shared a relationship that no one really understood, but explaining the sentiment wasn't necessary to Naruto. All that mattered was that the three of them were together as much as possible.

Letting Sakura inside, Naruto chattered to her questions about her day. She politely answered him before directing the conversation to the topic of her visit.

"Look Naruto," she began in a softer tone. "I'm sorry about how things went in my office today. I know you're scared, but there's really nothing to worry about. I promise."

"Aww, it's okay Sakura-chan. I wasn't mad at you at all!" Naruto beamed, unable to contain the excitement he felt that the trio was hanging out. If he played his cards right, he could maybe convince them to get dinner together. Then, maybe after that they could do something fun.

"So you decided to put this Death card silliness behind you?" Sakura asked with a hint of hope in her eyes.

"No, not really. Sasuke is helping me write my will right now," Naruto declared, the smile still evident on his face.

Sakura's face instantly fell. Ignoring Naruto, she suddenly noticed Sasuke working on cleaning the kitchen. Her famous temper instantly flared up. Fuming, Sakura stomped her way over to Sasuke. In fear, Naruto quickly stepped out of her way.

Noticing the storming woman tapping her foot in annoyance, Sasuke turned around from piling up dirty dishes.

His eyes met with an extremely unhappy Sakura. Her green eyes had been reduced to angry slants while her hands rested on her hips. She stared him down, as if trying to prod information from him with her eyes. Well, more like stared him up. Sasuke had grown quite a bit taller than her over the years, and she was fairly short for a women.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her.

Naruto watched intently, hoping that their fight would be brief, but entertaining. Secretly, he loved it whenever Sakura and Sasuke had little fights and for many reasons too.

The first reason was that Sakura _had_ to feel comfortable around Sasuke to lose her temper so rapidly. Whenever she wasn't comfortable with a person, she would repress her more fiery side. When Sasuke had initially returned two years ago, Sakura was always hesitant around him. She admitted to Naruto once that she believed things always would be awkward. Her ability to ream Sasuke out whenever she deemed it necessary proved that things weren't as awkward as they had been. In fact, it was a sign of progression.

The second reason was that their fights were absolutely hilarious. It always started with some kind of eye contact stare down thing. Then, Sasuke would snap at her. She would start yelling. He would yell back. And both members were storm off in the opposite direction, muttering how impossible the other one was.

Additionally, their makeup talks were even more hilarious. It would start with Sakura mumbling something like 'let's agree to disagree'. Sasuke would ignore her, but then act like nothing happened. It was completely bizarre.

But Naruto's favorite reason to see the pair fight was selfishly based. Sasuke would always be his eternal rival, no matter how much of a brotherly love Naruto felt towards him. When Sakura was yelling at Sasuke, that meant she wasn't yelling at Naruto. Most importantly, that meant Naruto was her favorite.

"What the hell are you doing?" Sakura snapped. Her arms moved, becoming crossed.

Sasuke glared in warning. He hated when her unpredictable temper was aimed at him. Sometimes, he felt like she was looking for reasons to overreact to situations.

"Are you trying to encourage this stupidity?" She continued, gesturing to Naruto. "You are enabling him!"

"I am not," Sasuke scoffed.

"You are too!" she screamed, throwing her hands into the air. "You're helping him write his will! What the hell were you thinking! You're cheering on this ridiculous behavior! I needed you to back me up on this Sasuke! Not help him write a damn will!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Turning away from her, he continued his previous work.

"Whatever."

Sakura huffed in frustration. Knowing Sasuke was a lost cause, she whipped around to Naruto.

"And you!" she said with a pointed finger.

_Uh oh. _

"You are _letting_ him clean this place? Last time he got Botulism!"

Despite the fear Naruto felt from Sakura's wrath, he still snickered a little. Sasuke had the worst luck.

"This isn't a time to be laughing! Botulism is a serious disease! He could have died! Keep this place in order, or I'll pound you _so_ _far_ into the ground that your new neighbors will be moles! Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah!" Naruto said submissively. He waved his hands in the air to gesture his surrender. "But in my defense, he just kinda goes off and does it on his own. I didn't make him a control freak."

Sakura let out a long, hard sigh. Her day at the hospital had been long and rough. She had just finished working a long shift and desired nothing more than to relax. However, if she didn't watch Naruto and Sasuke they would go off and do stupid things.

Rubbing her forehead, Sakura continued her lecture to Naruto.

"You need to take better care of your surroundings okay? Messy places like this are really accident prone. There's so much crap piled up around here… it could really catch fire easily."

Naruto's eyes widened in horror. Sasuke's ears perked up, knowing what kind of thoughts Sakura's words would induce into Naruto.

"Not to mention all the food you have lying around here! I'd hate to even know what kind of bacteria is crawling around in your food supply. Some of that stuff doesn't even come off the dishes if you let it fester long enough, you know! You have to boil it off! Are you even doing the dishes regularly?"

Naruto shook his head with frightful eyes.

"Sakura.." Sasuke responded softly, trying to interrupt her. Not hearing him, she continued her rant.

"Are your laundry needs to be maintained too! There are dirty clothes all over the place! You're just attracting a ton of pests!"

"Sakura," Sasuke snapped firmly, distracting the overwhelmed nurse. Both Naruto and Sakura turned their gaze to him. "Stop."

There was an awkward silence as Sakura realized what she had just done. If Sasuke's help with the will had been a problem, her little rant had been a catastrophe. Naruto's face had a serious paranoid tick going off.

"Naruto, honey," Sakura began softly. Her tone was suddenly gentle.

"You know," Naruto interrupted. "I think you're right. Maybe I should avoid this place… just until the week is over?"

"What?" Sakura and Sasuke responded in unison.

"I promise I'll clean it once the week has passed! But it's too dangerous right now! It's just too risky!"

"But-" Sakura began, attempting to reason with him.

"I know, I know. You think I'm being irrational, but it's more like a precaution. Just like a good safety move? Just in case."

Sakura stared, almost not recognizing Naruto. He usually was such a risk taker. Suddenly, a wild and almost wicked grin spread across his face.

"I'll just move in with Sasuke for the week! His place is completely safe!"

"No," Sasuke answered flatly.

"Yes!" Naruto responded, still grinning in excitement. "It'll be so much fun! I bet the Uchiha compound is really fuckin' awesome! I've always wanted to check it out more in depth! I mean I've only seen your house… and not even the entire house too."

"No," Sasuke repeated.

"Aww, don't be such a sour puss, Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed, quickly gathering up some of his necessities in the living room. "I mean, if it is my last week of life, what better way to spend it than with my best friend?"

"You aren't going to die." Sasuke groaned in frustration. "If you do, it'll be from me killing you."

"Eh, you already tried that a few times. I'll doubt you'll do it now," Naruto said with a shrug as he bound into his bedroom to gather more of his things.

"You are not moving in!" Sasuke yelled down the hallway. Naruto didn't respond.

Sasuke turned, glaring at Sakura.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun," she murmured in a sweet, innocent tone. Her eyes were wide and expressed true apology. Occasionally, Sasuke felt a huge soft spot towards Sakura, especially when her eyes were so wide. This was not one of those times.

He gave her a final glare, and then walked off. As he shut the door behind him, Naruto bound down the hallway to catch up.

"Wait up, Roomie!" He called with a grin.

_**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**_

**Author's Notes:**

**I am so in love with the Uchiha cats. They seriously are too adorable.**

**As a fun fact note, the majority of this chapter was written at night. My boyfriend was snoring, but I never have the heart to wake him. Thus, this chapter was finished sooner. **

**Leave a review please! 3 Next chapter will be arriving soon!**


	3. Part 3

**Author's Notes:**

**Thank you to my reviewers for the first two parts! ^_^ What sweethearts! I'm starting to get attached to the chronic reviewers. Hehehe.. I look for their reviews with each new chapter. You guys are so awesome! **

**I tried to base Sasuke's household off of what I could tell from the manga. The rest is improvised. **

**Also, I can never tell what kind of technology they have in the Naruto verse, so they have cell phones for plot convenience. **

**I hope you like it! ^_^**

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

_At this point, the idiot believed he had only 6 days left to live. _

Naruto lay awake, despite the incredibly comfortable bed he lay upon. His heart pounded in his ears. Something was amiss in the dark bedroom. His thoughts drifted as to how he wound up in such a spooky place.

After chasing Sasuke the entire way back to the compound, the pair had one of their typical arguments. Using some power he did not yet understand, Naruto found a way to manipulate Sasuke into letting him to stay. If he had to guess, Naruto would choose that Sasuke secretly liked having company as much as he did. Only, Sasuke denied himself the joy of companionship. Perhaps Sasuke wasn't willing to cope with loneliness of guests leaving.

Either way, Naruto got his baby way and was now sleeping in a bedroom down the hall from Sasuke's. After some rather rude prodding, Naruto discovered that this wing of the house was not used when Sasuke was a child. The wing that contained his childhood bedroom, as well as the bedrooms of his other family members, was apparently locked and closed. Permanently.

Once he was almost certain Sasuke had fallen asleep, Naruto planned on jumping out of this bedroom and roaming down the halls. Sasuke's home was entirely too interesting and forbidden not to explore.

Sasuke's house was the furthest back into the compound, all other buildings coming first. Naruto knew this was a common practice amongst clans to indicate the house belonged to the head family. The house sat in front of a large pond with several docks that jutted out into the pond. Naruto had pestered Sasuke into telling him that the docks were not used for fishing, but for practicing fire jutsus. Since practice of fire Justus was so pivotal, children were often taught how to swim at an extremely young age, should they fell off of the dock.

It haunted both males to realize there were no longer any Uchiha children running out to the docks.

Against the back of the house was a garden, one which Naruto assumed had belonged to Sasuke's mother at one point. The white and red flowers maintained their full bloom suspiciously, leaving Naruto to wonder if Sasuke knew anything about gardening. There were some questions, however, Naruto wasn't quite willing to ask. What he was not aware during his brief tour was that there were several pairs of feline eyes watching him.

Sasuke's house was large, almost like a mansion but more traditional. However, it went up three levels with an attic atop of the second level. Dark woods and rich colors hued the household. The ceilings were high, the halls wide. Stretching, the house expanded across the pond side. From what Naruto could tell, the center of the house had typical rooms like studies, a kitchen, a dining room, a living room, etc. From the central part, there were two wings of long spanning personal rooms like bathrooms and bedrooms. The east wing had been in use for bedrooms when Sasuke was a child. The large arcing door that led to that wing had been thoroughly locked. The windows that looked out from the wing had their blinds down. No one was to see inside.

From the center of the household, there were stairs that went to a second level. More empty rooms Sasuke didn't use. Naruto suspected that there had to be more stairways to this level, but he had not seen them on his brief tour. Apparently, the house had been constructed to fit a fairly large family. Sasuke's family must have been an exception in Uchiha family history as far as number of children.

The house was haunting really. Made to be filled with people, but there was only one.

Which was why Naruto lay awake with wide eyes. He had dozed off for a peaceful moment, only to awaken when he thought he heard footsteps above him. Opening his eyes to stare at the ceiling, he nearly screamed in horror when the closet door suddenly swung open. Fear paralyzed him for minutes until he got the courage to reach for his phone. Punching in familiar numbers, he waited for a soft, familiar voice.

"Hello?" Sakura grumbled gently into the phone. He had obviously awoken her from sleep.

"Hey, Sakura-chan," Naruto responded in a whisper, a smile of relief tickling his face. Despite his fright, Sakura's sounds were a source of comfort.

"Naruto?" He heard her shuffling as she rolled over in bed. She groaned an unhappy noise to being awoken. "Where are you?"

"At Sasuke's," Naruto answered, a hint of triumph in his voice.

Sakura let out a small, sleepy laugh. It was likely that she was imagining the fight that had occurred earlier between Sasuke and Naruto.

"Why are you calling?" she mumbled kindly. Naruto blinked, trying to grasp a way to explain the situation to her. He decided to merely jump into the topic.

"I think Sasuke's house is haunted."

There was a pregnant pause. Naruto heard Sakura sit up in bed through the phone.

"Huh?"

"I said I think his house is haunted."

Sakura paused, once again. From her lack of response, Naruto shook the phone in frustration.

"Sakura-chan!"

Pause. An intake of air.

"Why do you think Sasuke's house is haunted?"

"First of all, this isn't like any house I've seen. It's like a fuckin' baby mansion."

Sakura snorted on the other end.

"Second of all, don't even act like Sasuke's house isn't a prime candidate for haunting. There was a massacre here, Missy! By a family member! Plotting! Betrayal! Blood Stains!"

Sakura let out a long heave of a sigh.

"Don't let Sasuke catch you talking like this."

"Woman! I am being troubled by the dead Uchiha, and you don't even care!"

"Naruto, I just don't think his house is haunted."

He rolled over in bed, trying not to think of why the closet door had opened by itself. Naturally, his mind travelled to his own mortality. The gears turned in his head, his mind began to plot. Earlier in his apartment, he had come up with a few requests for Sakura.

"Hey, Sakura-chan?"

"Mmm?" she mumbled sleepily. She had dozed off some during his brief period of silence.

"Would you do me a favor?"

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

Awakening to a creature pawing at one's hair is really not as undesirable as it sounds. In fact, Sasuke preferred to be awoken by this method over all others. He lay still, feeling the pressure of the feline resting upon his shoulders. The cat mewled, pawing at the back of his head a second time.

"Yes?" He asked, his voice rough from sleep. He was careful not to move, should he force the cat into falling. While Sasuke wasn't incredibly sensitive to animal care, he often showed quite a bit of respect towards his family's ninja cats.

"Your guest is waking up," the cat reported. "He's spent quite some time writing something down. Now, he's getting dressed."

Sasuke tilted himself slightly, alerting the cat that he sought to roll onto his back. The clever feline jumped off of him, watching as he rubbed at his eyes.

"Did you introduce yourself to him?"

"No. We want to see if he's clever enough to figure out we're here."

"He's not."

The cat made a strange chuckling sound that this, acrobatically jumping from Sasuke's bed. The cat cast a final glance his way before sneaking off. Even Sasuke, the master ninja, did not know where cats wandered off to.

His bare feet padding down the hallway, Naruto made his way from his bedroom to Sasuke's. Much to his own amusement, Sasuke had actually kept him fairly close as far as the distance between bedrooms. If he would have been feeling more anti-social, he would have sent Naruto up to the second floor.

The thought that Sasuke didn't trust Naruto alone in his house hadn't occurred to Naruto.

To his surprise, Naruto found that Sasuke had not locked his door. This further promoted his theory that Sasuke liked having people near him. Admiring the traditionally decorated dark blue room, Naruto made his way across the hardwood floor to the Uchiha. Sun light dappled through the curtains, dancing lightly across the floor. The room was warm and smelled fresh.

Naruto plopped himself down on the bed beside Sasuke. With a grunt of frustration, the Uchiha rolled over and buried his face into a pillow.

"So... I've been thinking," Naruto began, overlooking that Sasuke was obviously pretending he wasn't there.

"A dangerous pastime for you," Sasuke grumbled.

"Yeah, well anyway," Naruto shrugged. "I've divided my will based on people. For those people, I have left them my final wishes. Make sense?"

"No."

"Obviously, I have more worries concerning our team."

"Quit talking."

"But, that's really inevitable."

"Shut up."

"I mean, you guys are my family after all."

"I'm going to kill you."

Naruto poked Sasuke's spiky hair.

"Quit saying that," He grumbled at his friend. "Quit acting like you hate me."

His mind ever changing like the wind, Naruto suddenly grew excited.

"Hey! Your hair must be spiky like this naturally! I've never thought about it before."

"Hn."

"That's pretty cool! Do you know if other men in your clan had spiky hair like this? I mean, Itachi's was long and-"

"No more," Sasuke interrupted. Having the extra company in his home only reminded him more of its emptiness. Naruto blatantly bringing up the topic was not helping.

"Sorry," Naruto murmured softly. Feeling some guilt towards the taboo topic, Naruto rose from his place beside Sasuke. "You wanna go train after some breakfast?"

"Yeah," Sasuke replied in a slight moan. Today was already starting to be a long day.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

As the pair of young men made their way to an old, familiar training ground, there was a silence between them. One remained lost in thoughts, a rare occurrence for him. The other was trying not to notice the silence of his companion. However, he had long grown accustom to the sounds of chatter emitting from his friend's throat. In fact, the chatter soothed him. Something, the second would never admit.

Slowly winding to the center of the training ground, Naruto turned briskly to Sasuke. Waiting for him to begin to speak, Sasuke raised a brow curiously at Naruto. Naruto delayed a moment, giving Sasuke a strong look in the eyes.

Suspecting the conversation was about to take a morbid turn, Sasuke looked away from the strong gaze. He settled himself onto the ground. Naruto settled across from him.

"So…." Naruto began with his go to transition phrase.

"I don't want to hear it," Sasuke interrupted.

"Come on," Naruto whined suddenly. "This is causing me mental strife! I help you with your problems! And believe me… do you have problems!"

An inhale and exhale of air was the only response Naruto received. However, Naruto pressed onward.

"As you may be aware, the three of us are involved in a love triangle."

"There are two of us here."

"Huh?"

"There are only two of us here, not three."

]Naruto stared at Sasuke, dumbfounded. Then, he started waving his hands dramatically into the air.

"I know there are two of us here! I meant the team!"

"There are four members on our team."

"Quit being so technical, damn it!"

Sasuke crossed his arms, looking pointedly away.

"Whatever."

"Anyway…" Naruto grumbled with frustration. "Well, I was thinking about this love triangle thing."

"What love triangle?" Sasuke asked suspiciously.

"UGH!" Naruto pulled at his hair. "The one between you, me, and Sakura!"

Sasuke shook his head.

"You mean the one when we were twelve?"

"I mean the one from when we were twelve AND NOW!" Naruto said shaking his hands around Sasuke's face.

"I don't think so," Sasuke doubted.

"Well, I'm not a self involved asshole, so I **do** think so! Anyway, I want to resolve this conflict!"

"Why?"

"Because I might be dead in a week!" Naruto screamed. "What the hell aren't you getting about this! WHY ARE YOU STRUGGLING?"

Birds from surrounding trees took off in fear from the noise. Sasuke began to rub his temples in annoyance.

When he had returned to the village, he had been put on a strict probationary system. He had reached a certain level of his probation where he was allowed to go on missions. However, any outbursts of anger could be documented against him. He didn't want to think what would be his punishment should his probation prove to be ineffective. As a result, he was often forced to put up with people annoying him to the brink of anger, but not able to act out his anger.

Naruto was constantly taking advantage of this. However, there were times when Sasuke ignored the rules forced upon him and physically fought Naruto. Their relationship would suffer without physical violence, Sasuke would reason.

Repressing his urge to punch Naruto to silence him, Sasuke continued to rub at his temples.

"So, if I were to die, I'd want you to have Sakura."

"Thanks," Sasuke retorted sarcastically. "I wasn't aware you_ had _her to give."

"That's not what I mean!" Naruto exclaimed, his hands waving in submission. Heaven help him if Sakura found out the implication of that sentence. "I mean that I wouldn't want you to resist being with her because of me being dead!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"So, I think you should be with Sakura. I'm thinking you should ask her out on a date this week. That way, in case I do die, the matter will be settled."

"And if you don't?"

"Then you only would have gone on one date! That's no big deal… friends do it all the time!"

"If it's no big deal, then why do it?"

"Because if I did die, then it would be a big deal!"

"Your logic, as usual, is flawed."

"Just do me a favor and do it okay? You know that you owe me."

There was no way Sasuke could argue with that statement.

"How about I do it if you die?" Sasuke reasoned.

"No! You have to do it this week! Otherwise you'll just say that you will and you won't!"

Sasuke silently refused. His eye bore through Naruto, trying to imprint a message upon him.

"Fine!" Naruto shouted, standing to his feet. "Let's settle this the old fashioned way. We'll spar."

This, of course, attracted Sasuke's attention. Naruto flung his finger into Sasuke's face.

"If I beat you, you have to take Sakura on a date."

"And if I beat you, you stop this nonsense."

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

Not too far away from the pair of dueling friends, sat three teammates. The canine enthusiast, the heiress, and the creep, as some would say.

The purpose of their gathering had been to take in a light breakfast and get in some morning practice. However, Hinata's rich cooking had left the three members lethargic. Since no mission was rapidly impending upon them, the group settled with speaking politely to one another. Eventually, Hinata knew that Akamaru would grow restless. His yelps and whines for play would become unbearable, thus inspiring the team to begin.

However, Akamaru lay on his stomach, not yet willing to start.

Interrupting Shino's rather in depth explanation of insect communication behavior was a low whistle from Kiba. With a sideways glance, Hinata spotted the object of interruption.

It was none other than the lean, blonde beauty that was Ino walking past. The group sat atop a hill, looking downward at the pretty female nin. Hearing Kiba's whistle, Ino looked up with a giggle and a wink. Turning her direction towards the team, Ino made her way up the hill.

"She's got a bit of saliva on her lip," Kiba observed in amusement. Akamaru wagged his tail from the sound of his master's voice.

"What does this mean? This means that she has gossip," Shino responded.

Standing, Kiba shot wide grin to the remaining pair of his team.

"I'll go talk to her. She obviously feels the need to share."

To Kiba's back, Shino mumbled, "An attempt to gain her attention, I wonder?"

Hinata shrugged, unsure of Kiba's intentions of trying to speak to Ino alone. Lately, he had been rather hormonal, so Hinata assumed Shino was correct. She was just thankful that Kiba's amorous pursuits were not directed towards her.

To avoid watching the dramatic pair flailing about discussing something, Hinata lowered her gaze to Akamaru. Petting the dog's fur lightly, she debated to herself if Kiba and Ino would make a decent couple. Akamaru nuzzled her and whined, as if sensing an ominous message in the air. Hinata looked up to notice two pairs of eyes directed towards her. The couple whispered once more. Both faces looking particularly worried.

"They are talking about you," Shino said bluntly. "Have you done something to warrant such reactions, I wonder?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Hinata murmured in a gentle tone.

Rubbing the back of his head with one hand, Kiba said goodbye to Ino. He turned around, walking slowly back to his remaining teammates. A slight frown etched across his features.

"Got bad news," He bemoaned. "It's probably going to change our plans for the week."

Both Hinata and Shino furrowed their brows. Their team had no major plans for the week. After their completion of a month long mission, they were given two weeks off. The quiet, unknowing dark haired members waited in anticipation.

"Naruto-kun's only got a week to live."

Hinata felt heat rush from her face. Black spots appeared into her vision, before an overwhelming sensation overcame her.

She fell back onto the ground, unconscious.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

While Hinata lay upon her back from shock, Sasuke lay upon his in pain.

That moron had used that stupid clone justsu attack again. As Sasuke fought off the relentless pursuers, the real Naruto jumped onto his back. Naruto's intentions had been to pull Sasuke to his knees and pin him down. However, his knee had thrashed about too much whacking Sasuke in the back. Combined with Naruto's weight and the sudden force of a knee, Sasuke back had made a sickening crack sound.

This had effectively called off their sparing session. Damage to the back could easily lead to lifelong damage. As in someone no longer having a career as a shinobi damage.

Naruto apologized for what seemed like the hundredth time. Sasuke just glared up into the sky.

"So maybe you can ask Sakura after she heals you?" Naruto began, trying to move Sasuke's mind away from the pain.

"No."

"WHAT!" Naruto cried out in annoyance. "But I won! You liar!"

"You didn't win. You were the one who said let's stop."

"Yeah! Because I didn't want you to get paralyzed or something!"

"You still ended the session."

Naruto fumed beside Sasuke, smoke practically coming out of his ears.

"Let's just focus on getting you better," Naruto grumbled. "We've got a mission in a couple days, and I don't want to go without you."

The thought of being free from Naruto for a few days almost relaxed Sasuke. That is, until he remembered that he was only having wishful thinking.

"Let's go visit Sakura. I'll give her a call so she knows to expect us," Naruto stated, rising to his feet. "I'm sure she'll be excited to stop healing boring people and chill with us! She'll fix you up in no time."

Little did Naruto know that Sakura was busy trying to awaken a distraught heiress.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

Ring. Ring. Ring.

You have reached Haruno Sakura. Please leave a message and I'll…

Click.

"She's not answering," Naruto informed Sasuke. The Uchiha did not respond. Naruto punched in the number for the hospital instead. A perky nurse who he knew for her braided green hair answered.

"Yeah, I'm looking for Sakura-chan."

"I'm sorry, but she's with a patient right now. May I take a message for you, Naruto?"

Naruto tended to bug Sakura a work so much that the entire hospital staff knew his name and recognized his voice. Likewise, Naruto knew most of the hospital staff.

"Well, Sasuke injured his back. Can you give us a time we can meet up with her so she'll fix it?"

"One moment please."

When he was put on hold, Naruto looked over towards Sasuke. He informed him that he was on hold. In response, Naruto received an eye roll.

"Ms. Haruno wants to know how Mr. Uchiha damaged his back."

"Well.. we were fighting and…"

"One moment please," the nurse interrupted. In the background of the phone, Naruto could suddenly hear Sakura's voice. Her tone was not a friendly one.

"I'm sorry Naruto. But Ms. Haruno refuses Mr. Uchiha treatment. She says you know the rules?"

"Aw come on!" Naruto whined. Why was everyone being so un-agreeable today? "He's in a lot of pain right now!"

"Ms. Haruno says she refuses to treat either of you when you have inflicted damage upon each other. Seek medical attention with a different professional."

Click.

"Ughhhhhh…" Naruto moaned. "Come on, Sasuke! We're going to make that unreasonable shrew heal you!"

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

Naruto's method of forcing treatment from Sakura was surprisingly discreet. His plan involved Sasuke waiting in her office. Naruto knew of Sakura's weak spot for both of her teammates, especially when they were in pain. No doubt if she saw Sasuke in pain, she would be unable to resist. However, upon their arrival to the hospital Naruto had run into Kiba. Having heard of Hinata's mysterious fainting spell, Naruto decided to go visit her.

When Sakura entered her office, she tried not to smile at the sight of Sasuke lying on his back on her floor. His face was wincing in pain slightly, but he acknowledged her with a short hello.

"Where's Naruto?" She asked, looking around the closet size office.

"He went to see Hinata," Sasuke answered, hoping that if he was polite with her, she'd heal him.

"And whose idea was it that if you waited here in my office, I'd heal you?"

"Naruto's."

She kneeled beside him on the floor, smiling.

"Do you find my pain amusing?" Sasuke snapped, annoyed by the grin. She shook her head at him.

"No, but I do think it's kind of funny how you keep trying for my help. You could just see another doctor you know."

Sasuke's mouth went into a line. There was really no logical reasons to stick stubbornly to only having Sakura heal him at a time like this. However, he didn't want anyone else to touch him. He was very exclusive about physical contact, even if it was in a professional sense. Sakura was the only one he could tolerate being so close.

Some part of her knew this.

"If we didn't have a mission coming up, I'd leave you to suffer, Uchiha," she stated with a playful poke to his side. "Now take off your shirt and roll onto your stomach."

Some part of Sasuke knew she'd always be willing to heal him, even if he did break her rules. He obeyed her command by removing his shirt, and then lay upon his stomach. Sakura tried her hardest not to be distracted by his naked upper half. However, his body seemed to make her blood rush. His well sculpted muscles beneath gorgeous, smooth skin was well worthy of awe.

"However, as your punishment I am making you do acupuncture," Sakura teased, trying to distract herself from his physique.

"Feh, you only want to practice."

"I know… and you really can't refuse can you?" She smiled, straddling Sasuke's back. Normally she'd be standing above the patient while they were on an exam table, but she didn't want to make Sasuke get up and move when his back was in so much pain. She began with sliding a needle into his shoulder.

"So what did you two fight about this time?"

"We weren't fighting. We agreed to settle a deal with sparring."

"Oh?" Her eyebrow rose. She slid a second needle into his skin. Sasuke was surprised with her delicacy. He felt a slight slip of the needle into his skin, but no pain corresponding to it. "And what was the argument?"

"His requests for his untimely death," he retorted sarcastically.

Sakura snickered.

"What did he assign to you? Because my deal was pretty sweet."

Sasuke waited without reply, knowing she would tell him of Naruto's request for her. As he predicted, Sakura continued with her story.

"He called me in the middle of the night last night. He asked that I train and strive to become Hokage in his honor. He was going to ask Kakashi to do it, but then he realized that most people wouldn't assume it was in his honor. That, and Kakashi _was _Hokage once for a little bit."

More needles slid into Sasuke's skin as she spoke.

"He thought you had potential as well, but then he figured you were banned from becoming Hokage due to your criminal history."

Sasuke snorted.

"So he chose you as a last resort?"

Sakura let out a long, disappointed sigh. Initially, she felt Naruto's wish for her to be rather sweet and somewhat of an honor. Sasuke had brought a harsh reality into light.

"Basically."

A comfortable silence fell in between the pair. Sakura continued to press needles into Sasuke's flesh, only hurting him with a slight sting occasionally. Eventually, Sasuke felt his back muscles relax.

"Does that feel better?" she murmured lowly. To his surprise, Sasuke found her tone of voice a little seductive.

"Yeah."

Although Sasuke could not see her face from the way he was laying, he knew she was smiling softly in triumph.

"Let it sit like that for a moment… then I'll pull them out, okay?"

"Hn."

After the moment passed, she gently removed each needle from his flesh. Secretly, Sasuke was rather impressed by her finesse as a medical professional. Her fingers seemed to move expertly, surely. Once his skin was free from the needles, she rubbed his back affectionately. Sasuke concluded she must have felt guilt for initially refusing him treatment. He lay still, allowing her to sooth him.

"Let's just try to get through this week with Naruto," She mumbled softly from behind. "We don't have to give in to everything, but maybe we should humor him a little. A week can be a long time if you are waiting. I know he'll be fine, but he thinks he may not be… that's got to be rough."

"Aa."

Her fingers continued to sooth him.

"Remember how long that week was when we were waiting for your sentence?"

Her fingers stopped moving. Silence fell. Even though he could not see her, he knew her eyes were lowered in a sensation of sorrow.

"It's fine now," He reminded her.

"Yeah," she responded with a small smile, her fingers once again rubbing at his back. If Sasuke were a feline, he would have been purring from the sensation. Despite the immense pleasure, a sense of shame tugged at him for his past transgressions. "We'll just have to help him through the week. Promise you'll be good to him? For me?"

"For you," Sasuke answered, unable to refuse.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

**Author's Notes:**

**I was really fussy with this chapter, which was why it took so long to post. There were so many details I wanted to convey correctly. **

**Please leave a review! ^_^ I enjoy them so much. Reviewers definitely help me to keep this up in a semi timely manner and to strive for better quality. **


	4. Part 4

**Author's Notes:**

**This story has a mind of its own, I swear. LOL I didn't mean to post this so fast, but this chapter nearly wrote itself.. Consider it a gift to my sweet reviewers! ^_^ **

**Not that anyone really cares, but I feel the strong urge to share. I got a jade plant this week. His name is Mr. Ekki. Currently, he sits beside my lamp on my desk top. **

**Mr. Ekki likes this chapter, so you should too. Enjoy!**

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

_The idiot, however, found more morons who believed in the omen. With support on his side, the idiot began to formulate last minute plants. _

The birds in the trees stared at the young men below them. They hobbled on their branches, fearful of the dog below.

Naruto and Kiba sat outside together on a bench. Akamaru nestled at both of their feet. Both males had been crowding around Hinata, leading to a nurse kicking both of them out. As far as they both knew, Hinata had yet to regain consciousness.

"So why did she faint?" Naruto asked while watching Akamaru eat grass. He vaguely noticed Kiba making pretty strong eye contact.

"Ughh…" Kiba trailed slowly. He was having a rare moment of social grace, where he was sensitive to Hinata's needs. Admitting that she was devastated at news of Naruto's eminent doom seemed insensitive, especially since Hinata was touchy towards the fact Naruto had never responded to her proclamation of love.

"You know, I'm not sure why she fainted," Kiba lied with little skill. He really couldn't fathom a decent reason.

"Maybe she isn't getting enough iron?" Naruto questioned aloud while rubbing his chin. "She's pretty pale…"

"Yeeaahh… I bet that's it," Kiba reasoned, continuing to stare at his friend.

"Is there a reason you are givin' me the eye?" Naruto blurted.

"What?" Kiba jumped.

"Why are you constantly staring at me?"

Kiba looked away, almost a little forlorn.

"I heard about you… from Ino."

The two males eyed each other, instantly exchanging several sentences with a mere glance. While Kiba knew that Naruto's best friend was Sasuke, he believed he shared a special connection with Naruto. Both males were loud and loved a wild, romp like style. Naruto definitely had some canine traits, which also made him an appealing friend to Kiba. The possibility that Kiba may have to live his life with a bunch of worried, stuffy ninjas didn't appeal to him. Naruto could always be counted on to make a mission exciting.

"Well…" Naruto trailed, looking away from Kiba. He began to scratch at the back of his head. "I mean, nothing's set in stone, ya know?"

Kiba had no idea that Naruto's untimely death was predicted by a card. He believed there must have been some deadly poison or venom injected into Naruto. Something scientific or logical as to why his buddy was doomed.

It never occurred to Kiba to ask Naruto how he knew he was dying.

"Are you still headin' out on your mission this week, then?" Kiba asked, trying to avoid the actual topic of death.

"Yeah. Sasuke refuses to let me call it in sick. Plus, Sakura would probably tattle on me."

"What?" Kiba gasped, standing up in outrage. "How could they be so selfish? It might be.. Your last.. You know.."

"Yeah, well, they aren't taking it too seriously," Naruto muttered.

"Obviously they are in denial!" Kiba shouted dramatically. Naruto grinned up at Kiba, thankful that someone finally believed him.

Kiba's thought process went to a similar route that Naruto's had already gone. Immediately he voiced his thoughts.

"Well you are gonna be completely okay, Uzumaki! You're a tough guy like me!"

Naruto gave a lopsided grin.

"But just in case... you got everything in order?"

"Yeah... In fact, I had a favor to ask you."

"Sure! Whadoya want?"

Naruto was overwhelmingly pleased that Kiba was entirely more agreeable than Sasuke. His request would surely be honored by Kiba; however, he was unable to voice his concern aloud. Instead, he paused for a brief moment. The words were on the tip of his tongue. But the words refused to escape his throat. Naruto's heart skipped a beat while his stomach churned a little.

"Eh..." Naruto muttered while rubbing his neck. "I'll get to that later. Now's not a good time."

"Well, that's fine." Kiba answered with a hint of disappointment. He was eager to know Naruto's wishes for him. "In the mean time... what's something special we should do for you this week?"

"I'm not sure. I want to make sure I meet up with everyone before the week is over. I mean, I'll probably be fine."

"You definitely will be."

"But it's a good idea to prepare."

"Yeah... just to make sure. But you'll be totally okay."

Neither male believed that Naruto was going to be okay.

To hide his anxiety at the thought, Kiba blurted out something that would allow Naruto to see everyone.

"Let's throw a ragin' party! Like a birthday party! To celebrate how kickass you are!"

Naruto found himself growing excited at the idea.

"Yeah.. but where at? You're place has new puppies.. and mine is a complete dump right now. I don't really wanna mess with it."

"Well, that's easy," Kiba answered with a slightly evil grin. "Just make Sasuke do it."

"I tried, but Sakura-chan was being unreasonable."

Kiba let out a sigh of annoyance.

"Sakura-chan's cute.. but she can be a real stick in the mud sometimes."

"You're tellin' me," Naruto muttered under his breath. "Just try dealing with her when she's united with Sasuke on an issue."

Kiba chuckled, inwardly grateful that his teammates were mild. Shino could be insolent sometimes, but at least he wasn't as temperamental as Sasuke. Kiba couldn't handle a life where his missions were filled with a stubborn woman, an emotionless freak, and a moody Uchiha. Only Naruto could handle such a daunting task.

At that moment, Sasuke left the hospital looking around for Naruto. Finding him at a bench, he approached the ill fated blond. He nodded to Kiba in acknowledgment, but refused to pursue conversation with him. In Sasuke's opinion, Kiba was an even bigger idiot than Naruto. To even waste time with him would be supremely uneventful.

"You were kicked out of Hinata's hospital room?" Sasuke asked with a raised brow.

"Yeah... the nurse said we were crowding her." Naruto answered while glancing at Sasuke's posture. "You look like you aren't in pain anymore! So Sakura did heal you?"

"Yes."

Sasuke turned, beginning to walk the direction of home. It was nearly lunch time. Naruto crawled up from his spot on the bench, chasing after the rude Uchiha.

"Hey wait up! Where are you goin'?" Naruto cried.

"Home."

Looking over his shoulder, he waved goodbye to Kiba.

"We're going home now!" Naruto called.

"Wait! You live with Sasuke now?"

Sasuke shuddered, horrified that people were learning that Naruto was in his household. Heaven help him if anyone started believing ridiculous things like he enjoyed company.

"Yeah! For the week!" Naruto nodded with a playful grin. His facial expression conveyed a message of "it's-totally-awesome-and-I'll-tell-you-more-later". This expression got the gears in Kiba's head turning, forcing him to a brilliant conclusion.

Uchiha Sasuke's house would be a mind-blowing place to throw a party.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**

Sometimes being summoned by Lady Tsunade only unnerved Sakura. She could feel her left eye twitching, brought on by the combined stress of Naruto and her sensei. Usually, a summoning by Tsunade meant a form of bad news.

As she walked into her sensei's office, she felt a chill go up her spine.

Tsunade slammed a bottle hard against her desk. Some paper work drifted to the floor.

This could _not _be good.

"Sakura!" Tsunade shouted. "I heard you kicked Naruto out of the hospital yesterday?"

Shizune rubbed her forehead in horror from Tsunade's shouts.

"You summoned me for that?" Sakura asked with wide, confused eyes.

"Yeah. He apparently was acting hysterical?"

Sakura looked away embarrassed. There was no way she could handle explaining such a stupid issue to sensei. Not to mention the hell that Naruto would catch from Tsunade. However, maybe it would help bring Naruto to reason.

"He wanted me to examine him…" Sakura grumbled in defeat.

"Huh?" Tsunade questioned, raising the bottle up to her lips. Shizune was quick to intercept.

The pair of women started a battle of the eyes. It was one Sakura had grown accustomed to long ago.

"Well, he's under the impression he's going to die in 6 days. TenTen read his fortune or something."

Both women snapped their vision to Sakura. The eye battle was immediately forgotten.

"What?" They both asked in unison.

"Naruto thinks he's going to die because of a card. He wanted me to examine him."

Tsunade began to guffaw as Shizune covered her mouth to hide her own giggles.

For a second time, the Hokage slammed her saki bottle against her desk.

"It's settled then!" She cried pointing her finger into the air. "We will make a game of this. A betting pool! Over how Uzumaki will die!"

Both Sakura and Shizune's face fell in horror.

"What?" Tsunade questioned with a raised brow. "It'll be fun. Teach him a lesson on being so ridiculous!"

"Please Tsunade-sama!" Shizune begged. "We cannot start something like this."

However, the gamble loving Hokage had already made up her mind.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**

The news of Naruto's fate had spread beyond just the Hokage's office. It was also traveling on the two feet and four paws of Kiba and Akamaru.

"Yeah, so did you hear about Naruto?" Kiba asked Shikamaru with an intense look. Choji nodded his head, but Shikamaru looked upward as he rubbed his chin. He seemed to recall Ino prattling on about something; however, Shikamaru had adopted a behavior of tuning Ino out when she gossiped. Usually, her information was fairly unreliable anyway.

"She said TenTen told him he had a week to live," Choji recalled. He always listened to Ino's gossip. Sometimes her stories were better than television.

"I didn't know TenTen was the one to tell him," Kiba mumbled in sorrow. "You'd think it would be Sakura since she's the nurse."

"Huh?"Choji questioned in between rice cakes.

"Well.. He's got some venom or something in him. They haven't got a cure yet."

Kiba had not realized he had come to that conclusion on his own. He believed his conclusion had been told to him by Ino or Naruto.

"Feh.. I think you two are blowing this out of proportion," Shikamaruo muttered.

"Sakura-chan's pretty smart," Choji reasoned as he chewed. "I'm sure she'll be working round the clock to save Naruto-kun."

"Hopefully," Kiba nodded. "In the meantime, to help Naruto, I think we're throwing a mega party. Maybe at Sasuke's place if we can work things right."

This, of course, captured the interest of the two other men. No one had been in the Uchiha district, other than team 7, in the last fifteen years.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**

As Sasuke walked homeward with Naruto in tow, he attempted to quell Naruto's fears about the ridiculous situation. Naruto had begun to discuss more of his will aloud.

"I was thinking that I'd give Shikamaru all my blankets and stuff like that. Since he likes lying around so much? That way he'll have something to remember me by that he'll use."

Sasuke ignored this comment as he strategized a way to begin his discussion with Naruto.

"As for Choji… I'm thinking all the Ramen coupons I have left. He'll really appreciate it. Plus, I'm thinking he'll want my cooking gear and stuff."

Naruto had been ignoring Sasuke's logic thus far, so perhaps he could find an emotional appeal on Naruto that would work. Sasuke, however, was poor with giving emotional appeals.

"Kakashi-sensai I think is the hardest. I don't really have any porn to hand down to him… and I can't think of anything I have that he'd want. Promise you'll spend time with him when I'm gone? Make sure he doesn't dwell at my grave all the time."

Sasuke investigated within himself who could sway him with emotion. The only candidate he could recall off hand was Sakura when she used the sad eyes. Sometimes when she used an exceptionally polite tone, Sasuke would give into her. Most of the time, however, her docile technique didn't work on him. Regardless, Naruto was more of a sucker for Sakura's feminine tricks than Sasuke was. Perhaps that would work?

"Sakura is concerned you are not handling the situation well. Frankly, I couldn't care less. You're an idiot," Sasuke explained. "Stupid cards cannot predict death."

"But what if they could?" Naruto questioned, trying to reason with the Uchiha. "I mean, there's a rumor TenTen predicted Azuma's death. Ino told me and everything."

"It's just a coincidence. You will not die this week."

"But what if I did! Nothing would be ready! I have to look at this situation like I might."

"That's stupid."

Silence fell between the pair. Naruto tried to gather an explanation for Sasuke, something that would help lean him to reason.

"It's like when you see someone all the time? Then, one day you look at the person and realize how much they changed. You aren't sure how, but they got taller. Or they became more muscular. Or they've gotten more wrinkles. Even though you saw it happening slowly, you just don't realize it all at once because it was too slow. Then you see it! Know what I mean? I don't want death to sneak up on me like change can!"

"No."

Naruto paused, chewing on his lip at little. He had lost his initial thought process on how to explain his preparation for death. Instead, he was consumed with explained the sentiment of change surprising him.

"It's like Sakura. I see Sakura almost every day and I have for years!"

Sasuke tried hard not to feel jealousy or regret from that sentence.

"But… one day I just looked at Sakura. I realized she wasn't so tall anymore… she's actually kinda short now. Then, I just noticed how old she looked. Like, in a day she went from looking fourteen to looking like an adult. I mean I was with her while she was changing, but I didn't see that she had changed until it was long done. Get it?"

"No," Sasuke answered flatly. There had been a time when he would go years without seeing Sakura. Whenever he did look at her, he noticed the changes immediately.

When he had returned home, he felt the greatest impact of the time that had separated them. Naruto had been right that Sakura was no longer relatively tall to their age group. However, there were other things about her that were so completely different.

For one thing, she had become fairly curvy. Her breasts were not particularity big, but they were full and appealing. Her waistline had developed to become quite slim or perhaps her hips had become more pronounced. Regardless, she had a more feminine appeal to her. Her smile was no longer wide, but sweet and gentle. Her cheeks, however, remained pink and apple shaped.

Sometimes Sasuke preferred the things about Sakura that hadn't changed to the things that had.

"Well… Do you get the idea behind what I'm saying?" Naruto questioned, interrupting Sasuke's brooding.

"Sure," Sasuke answered nonchalantly.

"Speaking of Sakura-chan…" Naruto grinned mischeviously. "Did you-?"

"No."

"Did you get scared?"

Sasuke snorted at the question.

"You are going to, right?" Naruto asked, stopping in his walk to stomp his foot. Sasuke ignored him and continued walking forward.

"No."

"You are such an ass!" Naruto cried, shaking his fist. "Everyone else is cooperative except for you!"

"Everyone else is a complete and utter moron."

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**

As the sun dipped into the skyline that evening, Naruto walked outside the Uchiha clan district. While Sasuke and Sai walked beside him, he punched the numbers into his phone that should have allowed him to reach Sakura.

"Come on. Come on," Naruto chanted as he listened to Sakura's phone ring in his ear for the third time.

"Just forget her," Sasuke grumbled, running his hand through his hair.

"No way!" Naruto snapped dramatically. "I have six days left to live! That girl is coming to supper with us!"

Sai tilted his head, observing the pair in confusion.

"You are aware that Sakura has family dinner this evening?" Sai questioned. "She has dinner with her family every Sunday evening."

"I know, I know," Naruto bantered as he punched Sakura's number into his phone another time.

"This is a special time for families," Sai recited from some book he had encountered. "Meals often symbolize a time of unity. Perhaps you didn't know since you do not have any family?"

"I know about family meals!" Naruto shouted with frustration. Today, he had spent a majority of his time shouting out. No one was taking this situation seriously from his point of view. However, he was beginning to notice some strangers and familiar faces eying him with sorrow. "It's bad enough we can't find Kakashi-sensei. Sakura at least should come to get ramen! Her stupid family will be around in six days!"

"She told me her grandmother is in ill health," Sai reasoned. "Something about a stroke?"

If Sasuke had not agreed to behave himself for Sakura, he would surely be losing his temper at the pair. However, he stood silently grinding his teeth.

Having encountered Sakura's voicemail yet again, Naruto cursed in frustration and threw the phone to the ground. Sasuke leaned over, taking the phone into his hands. Naruto snatched the phone from him to punch in her number yet again.

To Naruto's delight, someone answered by the third ring.

"Hello?" a weak, elderly voice asked on the other end.

"Sakura?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"She's baking pie right now," The raspy woman answered. "She threw her phone down. Something about a lunatic not leaving her alone?"

Naruto muttered under his breath a swear directed towards Sakura.

"Are you a true lunatic? Or was she just being dramatic?"

"She's being a dramatic little hussy," Naruto grumbled in response.

"Well, that's disappointing. I was hoping you were insane. I'd like to meet a crazy person."

"This is Naruto, her teammate. Can you hand her the phone? " Naruto asked politely, suddenly remembering his manners.

"Who are you talking to?" Sasuke questioned with suspicion. Naruto just stuck a finger in Sasuke's face to silence him.

"I don't think she wants to talk to you..."The old woman responded. "Why don't you just come over for dinner?"

Naruto's face brightened up instantly.

"Really? There's three of us."

"Sure," the old woman cackled. "I'll tell them I got some hunks comin' over. Pinkie gets a ton of leftovers anyway usually. She'll have to go without this week."

"Awesome!" Naruto grinned widely. "I'd love to join family dinner!"

"Owehehhehe," she laughed again. "See you in thirty minutes then. Don't be late!"

Naruto click off the phone, pumping his fists into the air.

"We get to meet Sakura-chan's family! I'm so excited!"

"What have you done?" Sasuke hissed.

"We're going to family dinner! What an awesome thing to do my last week! I've always wanted to have one!"

"We are not," Sasuke refused.

"Ugly's family?" Sai complained. "It'll be boring. I doubt that they are even a normal standard to observe."

"Really? Because what do we _really_ know about her family?"

There was a pause of silence. No one knew anything about Sakura's family, minus the fact that she had one. The three males had only gathered from Sakura that she was an only child and her parents were still married. Since family was such a sensitive issue to each male, Sakura would rarely go into the danger zone of mentioning her family. But who _were_ the Harunos? What _were_ they like? The prospect of learning was definitely tempting.

"We are not going," Sasuke repeated himself.

"Why not?" Naruto whined. "I'm going no matter what you do!"

Sai shook his head. "Family dinner sounds too boring. Besides, Ugly may throw a temper tantrum."

Naruto paused for a moment, trying to use a clever manipulation technique.

"Don't you wonder where the pink hair came from?" He questioned mischievously. He watched in victory as Sasuke's resolve shook somewhat. "Besides, Sai, don't you want to observe how families eat?"

"That pink hair _is _so ugly," Sai breathed to himself in awe. Where did such ugly hair come from? Did the entire family have pink hair? "How do families eat?"

"No," Sasuke said aloud, but Naruto could tell his firm tone was crumbling somewhat.

"Come on, we'll just stop by and say hi. Besides, it'd be such a nice thing to do!"

Sasuke crossed his arms and huffed. He couldn't believe was he was giving into.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**

**Author's Notes:**

**Sakura's family is so exciting to me! You know, the manga mentions her having one all the time, but who the hell are those people? **

**This tale is also rapidly expanding on its own. Right now I have no idea how long it'll be. Lol. However, the ending has been written! Now, I just have to write everything leading to the ending! **

**Sometimes if you are squinting, you'll catch references to my two other fanfics in this tale. If you haven't read them already, check them out! **

**Please review! ^_^**


	5. Part 5

**Author's Notes:**

**The long awaited family dinner chapter!**

**I didn't name any of Sakura's family members since that bothers me in fics. If someone picks a terrible name, it distracts from the entire piece. So, I just avoided the situation. Lol **

**Enjoy please!**

**X **_**X X**_** X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

_The idiot grew without a family of his own. This may be why he grew into such a fool. Desperate to feel the glow of a family, the idiot barged in on a family meal. The family treated him kindly, as all fortunate should act towards the unfortunate. _

Naruto shook slightly, giddy with excitement for his new adventure. Sasuke exhaled, sensing trouble for all of their futures.

"I find this house to be average," Sai observed aloud. "Perhaps, this means that Ugly's family will be an accurate source for observation."

Sai had been correct to say Sakura's childhood home was average looking. From the outside, no one would guess that a pink haired ninja would have been raised inside. This made the family all the more intriguing.

The Haruno home stood only two stories tall without any basement. Neither wide, nor long the house held only three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The second floor contained the bedrooms and bath, while the first floor contained typical rooms like a kitchen, small dining room, and living room. Outside, there was no garden. The grass, however, was neatly trimmed and surrounded by a fence. Seeming almost friendly, a porch faced the front of the house. There were benches on the porch, but it looked as if no one sat in them ever.

Naruto grinned and raced up the steps to knock upon the front door. Before his hand met the thick wooden door, it swung open. Sakura stepped outside, her face not the least bit amused.

Ignoring Naruto and Sai, her eyes directly cut to Sasuke.

"Why didn't you stop this?" she accused.

"How is this _my_ fault?" he hissed in response.

"You're supposed to make sure this kind of thing doesn't occur!"

Naruto and Sai watched, like children observing bickering parents.

"I would have stopped it, but I was being _nice," _He retorted with heavy sarcasm.

Sakura huffed slightly, turning her attention to Naruto and Sai.

"Regardless, you can't stay for dinner."

"Why not?" Naruto argued with a slight whine.

"Because it's too weird! You three cannot handle them, and they sure as hell can't handle you."

Naruto's face fell into a slight pout, unsure as to why Sakura was so adamantly opposed to the idea of dinner. He feared for a moment that Sakura was embarrassed of him.

"Please, Sakura-chan? We'll be good!"

Guilt tugged at Sakura, especially when she made eye contact with a pair of big watery blue eyes. She felt herself weaken somewhat, as she realized a family setting was a supreme desire for Naruto. Guilt began to overwhelm her more so when she realized the same scenario had to be true of Sasuke and Sai.

"Look, it's not you guys entirely," She reasoned with crinkled eyebrows. Her tone had become sympathetic. "My grandmother isn't well lately and says whatever comes to mind."

"We can handle rude! Just look at Sai!" Naruto blurted, sensing some wiggle room with Sakura.

Sakura eyed Sai, who nodded with some hope towards her. Sai's similarity to her grandmother was _exactly _what she was afraid of. Who knows what kind of topics the two would be willing to share with each other.

"I just don't think," Sakura began slowly, but was interrupted by the front door opening behind her.

"What are you doing, dear? Come inside. It's time to eat," Mrs. Haruno commented politely.

All three pairs of shinobi eyes snapped to the woman, hunting for the pink hair. However, all three sets of eyes were disappointed. Mrs. Haurno appeared to be middle aged with fading red hair. Her eyes had crow's feet around the edges, hinting at a stressful life. Her eyes, however, were somewhat reminiscent of Sakura's.

Sakura gave a wide, fake smile towards her mother.

"Of course! We were just discussing some business. We'll be right in." Sakura beamed. Sasuke and Naruto nearly choked from the rapid change of expression and tone. Sakura's mother nodded politely and excused herself back inside.

Sakura released a long, unhappy sigh.

"When you have a fake smile, violence usually follows," Sai observed aloud. "Are you going to hit your mother?"

Sakura's face fell into one of horror. Naruto snickered slightly at the question.

"No asking questions when you get inside. Okay?"

"But how am I supposed to learn?"

"Just whisper it to Naruto or something," Sakura grumbled. "Please try to be appropriate. Please?"

Sai nodded his head.

"Being appropriate is my objective. I would hate to cause a friend discomfort."

Sakura gave Sai a weak smile. Sometimes he could be obnoxious and rude, but he rarely meant any harm with his words. He was just completely backwards. At least, he was willing to attempt at change. Unlike two other shinobi in her life.

Sakura's gaze snapped to Naruto and Sasuke.

"And you two _cannot _fight while you are here. Just be good!"

Naruto started to bounce slightly.

"Does that mean we get to stay?" He asked with glistening eyes of joy.

Sakura nodded moments before Naruto pulled her up into a strong hug. Babbling his excitement, he gave her a strong squeeze before setting her down. Eagerly, Naruto rushed in doors with Sai soon to follow. Sakura stood back with wide, fearful eyes.

"What have I done?" She whimpered aloud. Sasuke shook his head lightly to the scenario, before leading her inside.

**X **_**X X**_** X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

Once inside, Sakura felt somehow abandoned in her life experiences. None of the training or difficult situations of her life had ever prepared her for such a bizarre grouping. Perhaps the most stressful aspect was how inexplicably serene the situation was.

Her mother was bustling about in the kitchen while the 'guests' shook her grandmother's hand. Sakura's father remained seated in front of the television, not caring of the world surrounding him. Mr. Haruno had checked out a long time ago. In Sakura's opinion, it was around the time her ill grandmother had moved in.

Sakura's grandmother was roughly around sixty years old, but a hard lifestyle had left the woman looking to be around ninety. Her deep crevasses into her skin look reminiscent of leather, but remained pale in hue. Her bluish white hair had been rolled tight into curls, something Naruto would often refer to as "the granny hair style".

Her grandmother was chattering innocently to the boys, introducing herself. Sakura moved beside her, watching warily as each male politely shook her hand. After shaking Naruto's hand, the old woman leaned towards Sakura.

"He's got that look of confidence," she whispered into her ear. "I bet he's got a big one."

Sakura nearly choked.

Unaware of the pornographic slander, Sakura's mother burst forth from the kitchen.

"Sit down! Sit down, please! Let's get started on dinner." Her face was flushed, a warning sign of the discomfort she was feeling. Sakura suspected her mother may have been gulping down wine to calm her in the kitchen. That kind of behavior was typical of her mother during holiday dinners. Sakura gestured everyone where to sit, while her father rose from his seat.

While he was largely checked out, he still heard magic words like 'dinner' and 'Sakura'. Few other topics could engage is attention.

Making his way into the dining room, Sakura's father eyed the three new individuals. He raised a single, silver eyebrow, but didn't even bother asking. He feared the answer may be too painful. However, it was unacceptable that Naruto had settled into his seat. Jerking his thumb at the guest, he watched as Naruto moved out of his spot.

Sai eyed Mr. Haruno carefully. The bulky, balding man had shaved his hair close to his head, but his eyebrows hinted that his hair may have been naturally silver. The man settled into his accustomed seat, unfolding a paper to read while eating.

"No one in this family has pink hair," Sai stated with disappointment. He temporarily forgot the no questions rule. "Was Sakura adopted?"

Sasuke and Naruto's head snapped to Sai, suddenly nervous. Not for the nature of the question, more towards Sakura reacting negatively. Sakura's head looked towards her lap, silently praying that the mild nature of Sai's question would continue. Should he say the word 'penis' during dinner, she would die.

"No, she's ours," Her mother answered with a hint of pride in her tone, not thrown off by the question. Thousands of people before Sai had examined her only child with confusion.

"The pink hair is punishment from the gods for pre-marital sex," Grandma explained while serving rice onto plates.

Everyone in the room looked appalled, minus Sai. He felt a kindred connection to the old woman who blatantly spoke her mind.

"Pink hair does seem like a punishment," he considered aloud.

Naruto started to cough in attempt to hide his laughter.

Eager to change the subject, Mrs. Haruno pleasantly gave a fake smile.

"Could you remind me of your names again?" she asked, despite already knowing from Sakura.

"Which one of you is the criminal?" Sakura's grandma interrupted with inspiration. The other two women of the family had nervous faces that instantly fell into a frown. Sakura's father, however, did not bother looking up from his paper.

"Sasuke," Sai answered with a point. "But he was acquitted."

"Eh… the justice system is falling apart," the old lady muttered to herself. "But I'm glad it worked out for you, hon. You're very handsome."

Naruto merrily began to eat his meal, not the least bit disturbed. He was counting it as a personal success that no one had begun to yell. Sasuke gave the woman a blank look, but didn't bother to attempt to find any words to reply to her. There was really nothing he was willing to say. Sakura rubbed at her eyes, trying not to throw up from the awkwardness she was experiencing. She noticed her mother excuse herself to the kitchen. Clearly, one strong swig of wine was not enough for this meal.

Following Mr. Haruno's example, Sasuke began to eat while ignoring the rest of the party completely.

Returning, Mrs. Haruno settled into her seat, her cheeks noticeably more pink. The group continued their meal, gently urged by Mrs. Haruno for more conversation.

"Sakura mentioned you were all recently promoted. I'm sure your fam…" There was a pause, a moment for Sakura to shake her head quickly at her mother. The gesture reminded the woman of Sakura's earlier warning that none of them had a family of their own. "I mean I'm sure you're very proud."

Sai nodded while Naruto grinned from the reminder. Despite the discomfort the event was posing on Sakura, Naruto was having a complete blast. The idea of so many people attached to one another eating a warm meal was thrilling. The comfort of food combined with the comfort of company was always appealing to Naruto, hence his constant desire to get ramen as a group. However, the familial aspect was twice as enjoyable.

"Yeah! I was really excited since it's bringing me closer to my life plan. Well, if everything works out," Naruto babbled innocently.

"And what is your future goals?"

"Well, my goal was to be Hokage, but.."

Sakura started violently shaking her head at Naruto. Sasuke gave him a glare of warning, unable to ignore the situation as he hoped.

"Now, Sakura is going to do that for me. I might be dead in six days. Probably not, but I'm prepared."

The entire room stopped. Mrs. Haruno dropped her fork in surprise.

Naruto's death prediction hadn't fazed Sakura's father, but the Hokage comment had. He briefly lowered his paper and gave his daughter a strong look.

"No becoming Hokage. We barely see you now."

Then, he continued his reading. Almost as if deciding to seal the conversation onto a path of bizarreness, Sakura's grandmother spoke up.

"They told me I had six months to live," Grandma commented aloud. "But I lived two years past that date. Suckers."

Sasuke could vaguely hear the man behind the paper mumble the word "unfortunately."

"How are you going to die?" the aged woman asked, poking Naruto with her fork.

"Well, it's pretty vague. I got my fortune read, but I don't believe it completely. But, I'm taking precautions."

Sakura's mother looked at Sakura in dismay. All she could wonder was where her daughter found these people. Additionally, how did her daughter become so attached to them? Currently, Sakura was asking herself the same thing.

"I'd believe it," the grandma commented lightly. "Back in my day, Akane Tendo could really tell that stuff. No one ever believed her, then BAM! Dead. Her whole family could predict it."

"I understand," Sai nodded. "Perhaps this family could sense death as a signature familial trait? Maybe Tenten is one of them."

Eyes snapped to Sai.

"What? Do we even know why they call her Tenten? Is that a first name or a last name?"

There was a long pause.

"It could be that Tenten is a nickname from her last name Tendo," the old women considered aloud.

Naruto's eyes widened with fear.

Sasuke answered with a strong glare to Naruto's paranoia.

"Naruto, it's just a story," Sakura said tensely.

"You're doomed," The grandmother countered. "Now, let's have some pie!"

Naruto's face paled, but he nodded absent mindedly. Following Naruto's example, Sai nodded as well. Sasuke shook his head mumbling a soft, "No thank you."

From behind his paper, Mr. Haruno raised his eyebrows with impression.

While the plates from the main course were cleared by Sakura and her rosy cheeked mother, Sai began to twiddle his thumbs, indicating he was trying to hold back a parade of inevitable questions. However, his respect for Sakura kept him obedient.

Naruto's pale complexion warmed to a more natural hue when his eyes fell upon the cherry pie. The sweet smell of the dessert wafted up to his nose, reminding him of the comfort of the treat. He bounced slightly from excitement, trying his best to patiently wait for his piece. Sai eyed the pie suspiciously.

"This was not made by Ugly was it?"

Sakura looked fiercely towards Sai. His mouth fell shut, realizing he had forgotten her rule about no questions. On the inside, Sai felt somewhat ashamed. He really did try his best when it came to learning social etiquette.

The majority of the group ate their dessert while Sasuke sipped patiently at his tea. While the meal had been bizarre, it was not a completely catastrophe as he had feared. Sakura even looked like she was starting to feel at ease. Of course, once one relaxes, mischief likes to bubble up.

"It's always nice to have sexy men at the table," Sakura's grandmother thought aloud. "Which one of these men are you sleeping with, Pinky?"

Sakura instantly started choking, her face turning bright red. Either this was from embarrassment or lack of oxygen, but no one could be sure. Naruto was quick to slap her back roughly while Sakura spit up her food onto her plate. She wheezed briefly for a moment, covering the mess on her plate with a napkin.

"Well?" Her grandmother asked again.

"No one!" Sakura shrieked.

Taking his social cues from the grandmother, Sai looked upward curiously.

"Can I start asking questions now?"

"No! No more questions! Not ever!"

Mrs. Haruno was blushing, trying to calm down her daughter. She was all too aware of Sakura's violent outbursts of shouting. If she knew her daughter was prone to beating her teammates, she would have been completely mortified.

"Sakura, be polite," she soothed softly. Taking this to be a clue that he was allowed to investigate, Sai moved onwards.

"Is this a normal family dinner?"Sai asked. His gaze snapped to Sasuke. "Were your family dinners like this?"

"No," Sasuke answered, his tone darkening somewhat. Sai nodded, unaware now unhappy the question had made the Uchiha. Sasuke's family meals had been completely different. For one, sex was never, ever brought up, nor even hinted at. In fact, conversation was kept soft and polite during his family meals. His mother had been a proponent of the theory that too stimulating of conversation was bad for digestion. Sasuke's father had been more than willing to agree with her.

"Well, I found this to be enjoyable. I will be considering an attempt to mate due to this event," Sai added bluntly.

Sakura put her palm to her forehead.

"I think it's time to leave," Sasuke murmured softly, rising from the table. Sai stood reluctantly while Naruto sighed in disappointment.

"Do we have to go?" He whined unhappily.

Sasuke gave him a steel look and nodded firmly. Naruto slowly rose from his seat, unhappy to leave.

"Goodbye!" He waved with a smile to Sakura's mother. Grandma was poking and messing around with her pie, not paying attention. Mr. Haruno, as always, remained buried in his paper. "Thank you so much for having us! It was awesome!"

Sai smiled and bowed in appreciation. Sasuke rudely kept moving, ushering the other two out.

"Come back any time," Mrs. Haruno answered kindly, although she was secretly unsure she could handle such a group ever again. Sakura stayed in place at the table, her face still buried into her palm.

"Bye Sakura-chan!"

She waved in a swatting motion into the air. Good riddance.

Her mother moved to start doing the dishes, talking with her grandmother in the meantime. Sakura, however, was not ready to rise and move into the kitchen. Her mother would have a list of questions that would consist of the following:

_Why did that young man have whiskers?_

_Was it dangerous to invite a former criminal into our home?_

_Why did that excessively pale one look like he was doing research?_

_What did he mean by obtaining a mate?_

_Where did you find these people again?_

_If you transferred to another team, what would they be like?_

_Have you considered thoroughly becoming a full time medical professional instead of a ninja?_

And, the classic, inevitable:

_Why does that poor boy think he has six days left to live?_

Sakura, obviously, wasn't ready to explain her lifestyle that far.

"I liked the quiet one the best," Sakura's father said, bringing her from her temporarily stress fit. Sakura looked up at her father with weak eyes. He was folding his paper neatly.

"Sasuke?"

"It's one thing to show up for dinner on short notice. It's another to eat someone's dessert."

"You liked Sasuke best because he didn't eat the pie?"

Her father nodded as he stood. He walked back towards the living room, giving his daughter an affectionate pat on the head.

**X **_**X X**_** X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

Later that evening, Sakura took great comfort in her apartment. The glow of her TV was enchanting her away from embarrassment. Family and teammates were both a blessing, but sometimes she preferred being alone. She especially felt so tonight. However, she only had a few moments of peace before Ino showed up at her door. A loud, special knock interrupted her scared time alone.

Rising to open the front door, Sakura met the face of a giggling blonde who waved a bottle of wine in Sakura's face.

"Stressful night, eh forehead?" she giggled. "Sai told me all about dinner!"

Sakura grimaced.

"I'll make it all better with wine if you tell me _everything_!"

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed together, but stepped aside to let the gloating blonde in.

"This is all your fault, pig," Sakura whined with disgust. "Naruto is being needier than ever!"

"I would get needy too if I only had six days left to live!"

"He isn't going to die!"

"_Denial_!" Ino teased in a sing song voice. The blonde laid herself out on the entire space of Sakura's couch, stretching a little. Ino always made sure to let herself be comfortable in Sakura's apartment. "Besides, don't be so selfish. I'm sure you made everyone so happy for the dinner. Sai thought highly of the event."

Sakura rolled her eyes and moved to sit on the floor. She faced Ino, watching the blonde expertly dive the instrument used for pulling out the cork in wine. The cork popped, and Ino grinned in triumph. Instead of having enough class to drink out of a wine glass, Ino sipped from the top of the bottle and passed it to Sakura. Too lazy to get up and search for her wine glasses, Sakura sipped from the top as well.

"The meal wasn't so bad, I guess. I got pretty flustered at the end," Sakura concluded to her friend. Ino continued to smile.

"I bet the boys just loved your gran gran."

"Well, I know as a fact she loved them."

Ino giggled, remembering some of her own encounters with Sakura's grandmother. Ino seriously hoped her old age would be as comical.

"Grandma did make things worse with Naruto," Sakura reminisced aloud. "She told him there was someone named Tendo who could predict death. Now, Naruto thinks Tenten is one of them."

Ino's eyes widened with shock.

"Omigod!" She exclaimed. "I bet that's totally true!"

"No, it's not!"

"Uh, do you remember what I told you with Asuma? Tenten totally knew!"

Sakura exhaled roughly, unable to continue the debate. She knew that bringing up the former sensei's tragic death for too long would lead into Ino darkening and weeping. And Sakura knew she would feel a wicked guilt if she induced such pain in her friend.

"Whatever," She grumbled as she took another sip of wine. There was a moment of silence, before Ino's eyes perked up again.

"This whole thing with Naruto…." She trailed off in thought. "It's reminding me of that movie."

"What movie?"

"Oh… that scary one. With the girl who kinda looks like Hinata? She like crawls through the TV and stuff."

Sakura raised her eyebrow in complete confusion.

"Huh?"

"Oh, I don't know. It's called like the circle.. or the roundness or something. Anyway, they get death predictions in that movie. Someone calls the victim and hisses out _Seven Days_. Then, next thing you know, bitch is dead."

"What?"

"It's a movie forehead. You need to get out more and watch a few."

"I'd rather not watch a movie where '_next thing you know, bitch is dead'," _Sakura commented with air quotes.

"No, there's more to it than that. It's basically a classic horror film of our era."

"You don't even know the title!"

Ino shrugged nonchalantly.

"Regardless, it's like the situation with Naruto. Poor guy… sitting around and counting the days."

"He's not dying!" Sakura cried out yet again.

**X **_**X X**_** X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

Long after Ino had left from her gossip extraction session, Sakura crawled into her small, but comfy bed. Made to fit only one person, her bed was iconic for a single, well behaved young lady. Sakura pulled the sheets of her bed above her head, somewhat enjoying the soft buzz the wine had given her. She briefly had concerns she would turn out like her mother, but she dulled those thoughts in attempt to sleep. Nevertheless, Naruto from far on the other side of the village was not allowing this to happen. Her phone lit up and buzzed.

Sakura reached out and answered.

"Yeah?"

There was a long pause on the other end.

"Hello?" Sakura asked.

"You aren't mad at me, are you Sakura-chan?" a childish tone reflected, but from the voice of a young man.

"No, Naruto-kun."

"Sasuke said you probably were."

"Well, I'm not."

She should hear Naruto breathe a long sigh of relief.

"Good. I had a lot of fun tonight Sakura-chan!"

Sakura smiled softly, despite not really wanting to encourage Naruto's barging in behavior. He was a dear friend and sometimes his childish antics were refreshing in a world of serious adults.

"I'm glad you enjoyed dinner," she mumbled into the phone.

"Yeah.. Afterwards, Sasuke was acting weird."

"Weird?"

"Yeah… he's being like.. I don't know how to explain it."

Sakura sat up, suddenly concerned. Sasuke being moody and temperamental was never a good sign. She and Naruto both were especially sensitive to his mood changes, should he ever chose to leave again. Sakura felt her stomach move upwards into her throat, her slight buzz suddenly gone.

"He's being... Well, I think he's worried about me. Like he's being nice."

Sakura beamed with a sweet smile. Sasuke had made good on his promise to her.

**X **_**X X**_** X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**

**Author's Notes:**

**Hehe… Akane Tendo.. a character of one of my other loves, Ranma. **

**I spent way too long fussing with this chapter. My apologies! I felt like it was really low quality, so I spent forever trying to fix it. So sorry for the wait! **

**The idea for Sakura's mother and father's appearance was based off of a comment by a reviewer! ^_^ Naiya12 mentioned the red and white combination idea, which was too intriguing to resist. Thank you! **

**The SasuSaku action is coming! I promise! Tons in the next chapter! **

**Please review! ^_^**


	6. Part 6

**Author's Note:**

**Thank you very much to all who fav'd and reviewed. ^_^ It's very much loved. **

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

_The first thoughts that plagued the idiot when he first awoke that morning was that he only had five days left to live. He genuinely tried to avoid such superstitious thoughts; however, the old woman's warning from last night had plagued him even further. He lay in bed, almost refusing to move. That is, until his friend decided to wake him. _

Sasuke usually rose from his bed before the sun rose from the horizon, unless special circumstances had altered his sleeping schedule. Today, there was no exception. He rose early, preparing to train. His feline companions informed him that his guest was still sleeping, but they would come alert him when his guest arose. Satisfied with this answer, Sasuke made his way to train early alone.

He left his breakfast unmade, knowing he would merely have to cook for Naruto when he awoke. Making two breakfasts in a single morning was far too bothersome to pursue.

However, Sasuke received no messenger cat. He returned home later that morning, roughly around ten. Naruto remained cooped up in his room. Dissatisfied to wait for breakfast much longer, Sasuke tried to placate himself with a shower. After the shower and some brief cleaning, Sasuke grew tired of waiting for Naruto to awaken on his own. Sasuke knocked roughly on the door of Naruto's temporary bedroom.

When he received no reply, Sasuke just let himself in. There, he found Naruto lying on his stomach, his blanket tucked over his head. The slight twitching of Naruto's body alerted Sasuke that he was wide awake.

"What the hell are you doing?" Sasuke asked in annoyance. "It's nearly time for lunch."

"I didn't sleep well…"Naruto grumbled, searching for sympathy. He rolled over in bed to gaze at his friend. The blanket fell off of his face, forgotten. "I kept thinking so much I couldn't sleep. Then, when I did fall asleep creepy noises woke me up."

Sasuke raised a single eyebrow.

"Don't raise your eyebrow at me!" Naruto accused, sitting up fast. "This damn place is haunted!"

Sasuke scowled.

"Do not refer to my home in such a degrading manner."

"Well, your _home _is full of ghosts! I wasn't going to say anything, but two nights of terrible sleep is overwhelming! Especially when I've only got five days left!"

"Enough," Sasuke warned in a low tone. However, Naruto didn't seem to be cautioned.

"How am I supposed to get my will enforced on no sleep? This is a horrid way to spend a last week. Nothing is getting done! And the creepy noises at night are _not_ helping!"

Naruto was babbling from exhaustion and fear. In his natural state of being, there would be no way he would drone on and on about such minor details like losing sleep. He was a full fledge shinobi. Shinobis were trained to function with little sleep. He especially would not tell Sasuke that his entire family was restless in their afterlife, either. However, the added stress of his daily countdown was starting to fray him at his edges.

"You just aren't being haunted because your family likes you! They are pissed I'm here!"

Sasuke's short temper was beginning to burn. The mentioning of his past family along with Naruto's paranoia of death was more than enough to enrage him. He felt his fist begin to shake, ready to strike Naruto. Sasuke didn't care about his probation. He didn't care about the possibility of damaging the interior of his house. All he cared about was beating his frustrations upon Naruto's face. His muscles coiling, he prepared himself to strike.

"_Promise you'll be good to him? For me?"_

A soft voice echoed in Sasuke's mind. Instantly rejecting his plan to strike, Sasuke fist and muscles uncoiled.

"I'm going to make lunch," Sasuke snapped suddenly, turning around swiftly. He slammed the door behind him in frustration.

Naruto watched in confusion, unsure of what had just transpired.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

Naruto was slow to join Sasuke for lunch, due to an especially well timed phone call from Kiba. The conversation had been short, but rather demanding. Kiba was insistent on throwing at party for Naruto and required that Naruto give him some details of what was to transpire. All the two males could really agree upon was that Sasuke's house was definitely an awesome place. Surely, everyone would show up if they knew they could get a glimpse of the mysterious home. However, there was one big problem.

Sasuke would never, ever allow such a thing.

Kiba pressured Naruto to find a way to arrange the evening gathering, especially before his mission tomorrow. The mission did not begin until sundown, giving Naruto plenty of time to recover from a late night. Everything could be arranged, if only there was a way to manipulate Sasuke into being absent. Naruto ended the phone call, promising Kiba he'd come up with a clever idea. The only problem was, Naruto could find none.

He sat mulling over the issue during lunch. Sasuke ate quickly beside him, secretly disturbed by Naruto's silence.

_If only there was a way to be rid of Sasuke for a couple of hours….. _

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked suddenly.

Naruto jumped guiltily, but tried to compose himself.

"Nothing! Why?"

"Hn," Sasuke replied peering into him. Sauske really didn't want to engage conversation between him and Naruto. It would only lead to discussions of demise. However, silence between him and Naruto was unusual. It was unreal somehow. The pair was incredibly close, but rarely did Sasuke ever have to take on making Naruto talk. Usually, the blonde did more than enough talking for the two of them.

"Get it together," Sasuke summarized into a simple sentence. He continued to eat his meal, trying to feel comfortable.

Naruto heaved a deep sigh. He gave up even trying to formulate a plot. He was far too drained to even try to think the party issue through.

"I need to get some sleep tonight… I won't get anything done today. Plus, we have that stupid escort mission tomorrow."

Sasuke raised a brow.

"I think I'm staying at Sakura's tonight."

"Like hell you are," Sasuke responded with a glare. "She's busy. She doesn't want to be bothered by you."

"She's already annoyed!" Naruto reasoned with an argumentative tone. "She's getting irritated with the midnight calls!"

Sasuke stared, trying to gather information with a heavy glance.

"We only talk for like an hour or so," Naruto informed.

Sasuke avoided asking what on earth the two had to talk about for around an hour every night.

"Regardless, you aren't sleeping over there. She's busy, and the apartment has only one bedroom."

"Yeah, but her couch is pretty nice."

"I said no."

Naruto gawked in confusion.

"What the hell? You can't say no! You aren't involved."

"Hn," Sasuke countered simply with a cold look.

"She might not mind," Naruto sounded. "Plus, I need some sleep!"

"No."

There was an awkward moment. The two looked into each other, blue meeting black. Then, Naruto's arms began to flail around.

"Give me one good reason to stay here! First, you hate that I'm here and throw a fit! Next thing I know, you refuse to let me leave!"

"You could always go back to your place."

"But I'll die!"

Sasuke huffed. Naruto watched him in confusion. He knew Sasuke had issues, but this scenario was seriously bizarre.

"Is it because you're lonely and you need me here?" Naruto teased suddenly. His eyes were slanted in supreme amusement.

"You wish," Sasuke opposed.

"Then why do you care?" Naruto pondered aloud, his voice almost melodic from teasing. It was a fairly rare in occurrence, but Naruto loved to see Sasuke flushed and wordless. He knew if he pursued this route, he'd have a victory. "Could it be that you would get _jealous_?"

Naruto began to giggle in the most unflattering way.

"That's it, huh? You'd be jealous that Sakura and I would be having fun without you!"

Sasuke shook his head at the dull blonde.

"Idiot," He grumbled.

"No wait… you'd be jealous because Sakura and I would be _alone _together! At her place! At night time!"

Sasuke met his gaze with a forcefully fierce look. Naruto ignored the warning, knowing that Sasuke wouldn't attack. Besides, seeing Sasuke so flustered in denial and anger was too entertaining to stop.

"I bet she'd be really affectionate.. since I have only a few days left to live."

"If you tried anything, she'd beat you until you couldn't walk." Sasuke seethed the threat.

Naruto waggled his eyebrows, chuckling slightly at the innuendo Sasuke had made with his threat. Before Sasuke was ready to engage in battle, Naruto decided to compose the situation.

"Hey, hey... I'm only kidding." Naruto waved his hands submissively into the air. "We're all just friends…I just like to tease. Nobody wants anybody."

Naruto knew he was lying like hell, but he wasn't ready to deal with the complex relationship that lay between himself, Sasuke, and Sakura. He was far too exhausted to even experiment with that issue.

However, Sasuke's ability to become enraged so hastily at the thought of Naruto and Sakura amorously together inspired Naruto. Wicked, manipulative thoughts began to turn the gears of his mind. Perhaps, there was a way to get rid of Sasuke tonight _and _have the single date from his will occur. Naruto tried his hardest to compose himself. Implementing this impromptu plan was of the upmost importance. Sasuke could not suspect a thing.

"So.. I want to take back something I asked you for earlier," Naruto began, scratching at the back of his head. He tried to calm himself, but he was nervous. This plan was too good and his only chance at winning his desires. "I agree with you. It'd be weird if you went on a date with Sakura… especially if you just did it because I told you to."

Sasuke nodded in agreement. However, he was suspicious why the stubborn blonde had so suddenly changed his mind.

"And how did you come to this conclusion?"

"I don't know… I guess it was during dinner last night," Naruo lied. He kept chanting to himself that he could do this. He was a trained shinobi. An expert deceiver. He could do this.

"I guess I noticed how you and Sakura fight a lot. Especially lately… like you did in my apartment… and you did when we got there last night.. It wouldn't work. Plus, it's always strange when friends start dating."

Sasuke nodded in agreement once more. Naruto took a discrete deep breath. This next sentence would be supremely important.

"I mean, it was weird when we did it," Naruto responded in a fake casual tone.

There was a suspension of sound. Sasuke did not reply for was seemed like an eternity.

"_What?_" he finally hissed.

"It was weird when Sakura and I went on a date."

Sasuke's eyes seemed to widen in fury. His mouth, however, was set into a line. He was trying to hide his supreme jealousy and confusion. However, Naruto was a master at reading Sasuke's subtle facial expressions.

All Naruto could think to himself was, "_He took the bait! He took the bait! I can't believe it! He's totally falling for it!"_

"What? You didn't hear?" Naruto asked off hand. "It wasn't a big deal or anything."

Probably because it never happened.

Well, Sakura _had_ accepted to go on a date with Naruto years ago, but he had been unluckily unable to fund the endeavor. He chased after her multiple times after that, but each time she discretely found a way to avoid being asked again. Perhaps, she had come to the conclusion that a date would be supremely awkward and damage their intricate relationship. Or maybe she felt that their lives were too complicated to attempt such a thing at the time. If he were to ask her now, Naruto was really unsure how she would answer.

Regardless, Sasuke gullibly bought into the story.

"When?" He asked, trying to conceal his resentment. However, Naruto could see right through his attempt. His fists were clenched and everything, a warning sign of definite anger.

"Oh, sometime when you were gone. It wasn't a big deal. Just a kiss on the cheek type of thing."

Sasuke's mind instantly was enraged with inferno. When he had returned home, Sakura wouldn't even hug him. Hell, she wouldn't even refer to him with the affectionate suffix. He had to earn her good graces again, while she was kissing Naruto? What kind of deal was that?

It didn't occur to Sasuke that his multiple attempts to kill Sakura had damped her desire to be openly affectionate with him. Her feelings toward him certainly had not changed, as she was with him often during his return. She had merely treated him differently, afraid to get too comfortable.

Of course, with time she grew at ease with Sasuke again. He was certainly trusted by her now, as indicated by the return of her friendly behavior. It was only yesterday that she had been affectionately rubbing his back, wasn't it? Furthermore, why did he even care?

Still fuming, Sasuke rose. His promise restrained him, once more.

"I have errands. Don't come."

He left through the back door, a slamming resounded behind him.

Naruto grinned in victory, hoping Sasuke would take hasty action.

He sat there a moment, enjoying the midday sun. He continued to munch on the meal Sasuke had prepared for them, missing his companionship for a moment.

**SLAM!**

Naruto jumped in his seat. Sasuke's kitchen door slammed shut, completely by itself. Unable to handle the spooky house by himself, Naruto ran out the back door.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

Lacking anywhere to particularly go, Naruto went to his standby activity. Bothering Sakura.

"It happens during the day too!" Naruto cried, as he burst into Sakura's office.

Sakura looked up suddenly her mouth slightly agape. She had no idea what Naruto was referring to, furthermore why he was troubling her again. Her studies of medical text forgotten, Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"What?" She questioned in confusion.

"Well, Sasuke and I were talking... and then he left out the back door after getting all pissy.. then the kitchen door slammed shut by itself!"

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed together. Surely, this week with Naruto would be the cause of premature aging. She inhaled slowly, reminding herself that she had to be kind to Naruto. Not only for his own wellbeing, but as a favor to Sasuke. If Sasuke could compose himself into being nice to the moron, surely Sakura could get herself together.

"Wait a moment, go back," She began, her face quirking. "You said Sasuke was mad? What'd you do?

"Why does it have to be my fault? He's an asshole. Or did you forget?"

Sakura gave Naruto a strong, blank stare. Since most of Sasuke and Naruto's arguments were a mutual issue, she decided not to pursue what on earth they had been arguing for. Instead, she moved to the topic of Naruto's current distress.

"The kitchen door closed?"

"By itself!"

Sakura let out a sigh.

"Promise me you aren't bugging Sasuke with this ghost stuff."

Naruto's face faltered a little.

"You _told _him!" Sakura shrieked in horror. "Naruto!"

"Would you get over the minute details? I am being haunted! Probably because I'll be joining them in the spirit realm soon."

Sakura let out a long unhappy sigh. Bitterly, she thought of how often she had been doing this lately. She was eager to relax once this whole ordeal was over. Deciding to distract Naruto, she leaned back and pulled a file from the shelf behind her.

"I've got our mission assignment report," she announced to him, reaching to hand him the file. Usually, when Naruto was aware of a mission assignment he would devour the entire reading in excitement. Today, however, he sat down across from her. He didn't look the least bit interested. She was instantly disheartened to see that Naruto was so melancholy. When he wasn't having an episode of terror, he seemed to be disinterested.

"Did Sasuke come to visit you?" He asked distractedly, before opening the file. Sakura tilted her head in confusion. Why was Naruto more concerned about Sasuke's whereabouts than a mission?

"Why would Sasuke come to visit me?" she questioned.

Naruto shrugged dramatically and instantly buried himself into the file contents. Sakura noticed his cheeks flush slightly, almost as if he was caught wrongdoing.

"It's a short, but high ranking mission," Sakura explained as she briefed Naruto. "The guy doesn't have far to travel, but he has quite a few security risks."

Naruto tilted is head.

"Seems like he's something of a playboy. He's got a few angry ex-girlfriends."

"And why are we protecting him?"

"He's got the cash."

Naruto's hands began to shake subtlety.

"How bad do you think they want him dead?" He asked, a nervous quip escaping his tone. Sakura shrugged.

"It's nothing we can't handle. I'd like to think we're capable of fighting scorned women and the mercenaries they hire."

Naruto nodded, still nervous. What was the saying? Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned? Perhaps his doom would be brought upon by an angry exe? Lowering his head, he did not bother to read the rest of the file.

To his surprise, he felt a hand pat the top of his head. He looked upward to see Sakura giving him a wistful smile.

"Don't worry," She said softly. "There's no need to be superstitious."

Naruto nodded, doubt still evident in his posture.

"Hey," Sakura said weakly, trying to distract him. "Anything we can do that would help?"

The true question she meant to ask was "_Anything we can do that will make you realize that you're a moron for getting so worked up?" _However, her caring nature towards Naruto prevented her from insulting him so boldly.

Naruto shook his head, his spirits still low. He stood to his feet, unsure where to go.

"Nah," He said with an obviously fake smile. "Catch you later, Sakura-chan."

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

Due to her mission the following day, Sakura decided to only dedicate a half day studying medicine. Taking the rare opportunity to have alone time, Sakura snuck back to her apartment. She was sure to remind no one that she had time off right now. Nearly the entire population felt like a pain in the ass.

In reality, there was only one individual who was really grating her nerves at this moment in time. But, death predictions were the last thing on her mind. Currently, she was nestled on the floor of her living room. A load of fresh, warm laundry lay in a basket beside her. While watching some afternoon talk show on television, she folded large, fuzzy towels. Contentedly, she enjoyed her own silent company.

That is, until there was a knock on her front door.

Sakura glared at the doorway but gave in to social behavior.

"Come in," She called, somewhat unhappily. To her surprise, Sasuke walked through her doorway. He did not look pleased.

Sasuke had meant it when he told Naruto he was leaving to run errands. However, several grocery bags later, he found himself still unhappy. He refused to acknowledge why he was gloomy entirely, and reasoned to himself that his displeasure was with Naruto's constantly bothersome behavior. In reality, the bad taste in his mouth was from envy.

Sakura tilted her head curiously at him, wondering why he showed up. Furthermore, she wondered why Naruto was accurate in expecting him to visit her.

"Come in?" Sasuke scolded. "You leave your door unlocked, and just invite anyone in?"

"I'm pretty sure I can fight most people off," Sakura reasoned, resisting rolling her eyes. She lifted a second towel and proceeded to fold it. Sasuke scowled unhappily.

"So, what's going on?" She asked, looking up from her laundry. Sasuke raised a brow. "I'm sure you didn't travel all this way just to check my security settings."

"Hn," He grunted, settling down in front of her. He leaned forward, pulling one of the towels from the load. She watched as he began to fold the linen, secretly amused by his desire for cleanliness.

"Also, Naruto told me you were coming," Sakura continued, trying to prod Sasuke into talking. She noticed Sasuke's eyes drop into angry slants. Sasuke, however, didn't speak to her. He set the folded towel down, moving to the next.

"What did you two fight about?"

When he didn't respond to her for a third time, Sakura resorted to poking Sasuke's forehead for attention. She was not aware that at one time, a forehead poke was a gesture of affection from his brother. Had she known this, she certainly would not have nudged him. Regardless, Sasuke's mind and mood instantly fell into more foul territory.

"Take it back," he growled out softly.

"What?"

"Take back this whole niceness pact. I'm not dealing with it anymore."

There was a pause, Sakura biting her lip slightly.

"Look, if Naruto's getting to be a pain, he can just stay with me tonight."

"No," Sasuke hissed out icily. He gave her a dirty look.

"Okay, Okay," Sakura submitted, putting her hands into the air. "No need to get mean with me."

Sasuke lowered his gaze, continuing to fold laundry. In his mind, he had every reason to be mean with her. She was lucky she seemed to always fall into her own special category, or he would have been far crueler towards her.

"He's getting on my nerves too," Sakura sympathized softly with Sasuke. She wished the raven nin would act like his normal self. Ironically, most people believed hissing and spewing fiery venom _was_ Sasuke's normal self. "Just five more days, and he won't be annoying."

Sasuke gave her a questioning look.

"Well, he'll be less annoying."

When Sasuke didn't retort to her, she continued to ramble.

"I think he's really upset. Naruto always puts on a happy face, but I can tell it's eating away at him. And we wouldn't be good friends if we let him suffer alone. Today, when I gave him the file for our mission he didn't care. It's so unlike him…"

"I don't care," Sasuke interrupted, aggression escaping into his tone. "He's an idiot."

"I think you do," Sakura responded, her tone gentle. She knew if she sounded like she was arguing with Sasuke, he'd blow up and leave. "I really appreciate how you've tried to be kind to him."

"Hmp."

Both hands reached into the basket at the same time, reaching for linen to fold. The basket lay empty. Sasuke's eyes widened as Sakura's fingers accidently brushed his. The sensation of the touch was strange. It seemed to resonate through his body rapidly, and he was quick to pull away. No matter how much he would deny it to himself, Sasuke liked it when they touched. Even by accident.

The slip of her hand had distracted him somewhat, making him slightly less intimidating.

"Maybe you just need a little break from Naruto?" Sakura asked softly. Her tone seemed to stroke at his nerves. "Why don't you come over tonight? We'll hang out together and have a quiet night in."

Any thoughts Sasuke may have been having were completely silenced by the question. His breath hitched slightly. Sakura did not seem to notice. Her round, green eyes peered into him, waiting.

"Fine," he answered her shortly. Heat seemed to creep up his neck when he watched her smile innocently. She was genuinely thrilled he wanted to spend time with her, even if it was to escape a blonde pest.

Sasuke stood, not bothering to offer her any words of goodbye. He walked to the door, his hand resting on the knob.

"I'll be over later to make you supper," he commanded over his shoulder. With that, he left.

Sakura blushed, stone still. Something about Sasuke's order of them sharing a meal altered the scenario. She couldn't help but feel like she had a date. Blushing, she moved to her bedroom, debating if she should dress accordingly.

While making his way homeward, Sasuke sent Naruto a simple message of the following:

**I won't be around tonight. Don't bother me. **

Naruto grinned wickedly to himself, his fists pumping into the air. He wasn't sure how, but everything had gone according to plan.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

**Author's Notes:**

**There was supposed to be more to this chapter, but the content got rather long. So, I decided to split the chapter. **

**The date part should be up by the weekend! ^_^**

**As always, I love reviews. **


	7. Part 7

_While the idiot planned his party, a young woman on the other side of the village was fussing. You may not know this, young one, but most women are incredibly fussy. She was fretting because the idiot had arranged a date. He was bold enough to believe that his absence would scar all and that everyone would desperately need each other. He prided himself on his match making abilities. However, while the date was to occur, he would be up to mischief. _

Sakura couldn't decide which was worse: the fact her apartment wasn't spotless or the fact she needed a shower. She didn't have time to fix both. If she didn't clean, there was a strong possibility that Sasuke would spend a majority of the night disinfecting her home. If she didn't shower, that would make the date awkward.

_That is, if tonight consists as a date. _

Sakura chewed at her nail, debating. Ultimately, the shower had the greatest appeal. Her apartment was mostly picked up, minus a few odd text books. She had dusted at least a week ago, so maybe he wouldn't notice. No one else would, but Sasuke tended to be a freak about cleaning.

Her decision final, Sakura made her way into her bathroom. She striped her clothes from her body and stepped into the hot shower. Warm streams of water pelted against her back, but she found herself twitchy and anxious. No matter how she rationalized to herself, she couldn't help but feel excited. She hadn't spend an evening alone with Sasuke _ever, _despite wanting to _forever. _

Her shower lasted half the time it normally would, her limbs moving about anxiously. Despite spending half the time, she was more thoroughly clean. Her nerves had made her more energized and twice as speedy. Restlessly stepping from the shower, she unfolded a towel.

Briefly, she wondered if he had folded the towel around her form. Her face flushed, thoughts of fingertips grazing her skin heating her. The idea was….._wonderful._ She loathed herself at that moment, making her way anxiously to her bedroom. She was acting like a fourteen year old, but she wasn't able to stop.

She fussed with her clothing in her bedroom. What should she wear? Something casual? Something nicer? Something nice _and_ casual? She grunted in frustration, wishing she could reprimand herself. She pulled clothing from her closet, rapidly dressing. Unable to settle her excitedly shaking fingers, she padded quickly down the small hallway of her apartment. Having a moment to pick up a little, she lifted various medical texts from the tables and floor. Huffing in frustration, Sakura remained unaware of a new object sitting neatly atop of her television. A thin, black box with a card neatly placed atop.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

Naruto was quick to spread the word on the party. He was nearly as restless as Sakura at the moment. His fingers rapidly dialed numbers, reminding others to bring people with them. Surely, this would be the most eventful gathering of his lifetime. By the time he reached Ino, he practically foamed at the mouth with excitement. He recited all the details to the playful blonde, hearing a squeal of excitement on the other end.

"How on earth did you get Sasuke to agree to this?" She was twitching with excitement. Imagine…. She would be in _his_ house tonight! Maybe she could sneak off and surprise him in bed…..

"I've got him distracted for the evening," Naruto bragged with a keen smile.

"So he's not going to be there?" Ino pouted. Unable to resist telling her of his new feat, Naruto continued his story.

"Nope… he's got a _date. _So you have to keep it a secret!"

Ino paused, her mouth dropping open. She was almost certain her heart had fallen from her chest and landed on the floor.

"With who?" She seethed, half expecting the answer.

"Sakura-chan! You can't tell her about the party either! Or the fact I set the date up. Or the fact we know the date is happening. Just, don't say anything!"

Ino's face fell, her joy for the party gone.

"Promise not to tell?" Naruto echoed on the other end of the phone. He remained unaware how wickedly jealous Ino was feeling. However, Ino composed herself.

"Yeah, yeah. I wouldn't ruin your party," Ino groaned. Naruto was _so _lucky he only had five days left to live. Otherwise, she would have killed him for ushering Sasuke to Sakura.

After the phone call, Ino sat still for a moment. She was sulking, but she wasn't entirely shocked by the news. Some couples, despite there being a lack of obvious affection, seemed inevitable. Plus, she _definitely _wasn't one of those jealous friend types. Like hell was she ever going to be envious of Billboard Brow.

Resolving to give the date her blessing, Ino rose to complete her best friend obligation. She had to help the date run smoothly _somehow_. Even if she had to act like she wasn't aware of it.

Resolving to the best method of first date make-out tactics, Ino picked up her personal favorite horror film. Sakura wouldn't be suspicious anyway since they had just discussed the film last night.

Letting herself into the apartment without a knock, Ino was surprised to hear Sakura's shower running. Smirking to herself, Ino observed that her best friend had to be primping. She set the movie down on the television and wrote out a quick note to the flushing pink haired girl.

_Forehead- Prepare for the fright of your life. You won't want to sleep alone tonight!_

Ino smirked to herself. Feeling like a philanthropist and a saint, she merrily made her way out of Sakura's apartment. After all, she had her own primping to attend to.

Roughly a couple of hours later, Ino received a phone call.

"Sasuke just left!" Naruto anxiously called into the phone. "Come over!"

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

Sakura sat squarely in the center of her couch. A book lay on her lap, but she certainly wasn't reading. Instead, she listened to the clock tick. She twitched. Her fingers fidgeted with her hair.

What were they supposed to be doing tonight again? What had she specifically said?

Hang out… what the hell was hanging out anyway? Who came up with such a ridiculous phrase?

Oh, and they'd be sharing dinner. He'd be _making _her dinner.

Why did she have to blow this out of proportion? She spent the last two days nagging at Naruto for taking things out of context and out of proportion. Now, she was spending an entire afternoon doing the same thing. Her fingers nervously ran through her hair, again.

Earlier, she had placed a clip into her hair in attempt to stop agitating her hair. However, she removed the clip. Only to place it back in. Only to take it out again.

She was going to scream.

Much to her sudden relief, there was a knock on the door. She managed to eep out a small cry of come in. Sasuke entered, carrying a bag with him.

"You don't learn, do you?" He questioned in regards to her door being unlocked. Sakura shook her head, trying not to notice how handsome he looked in black. He ignored her, moving into her kitchen. The red Uchiha fan was bright against the darkness. Suddenly exhausted from her hours of anticipation, Sakura let out a long breath. She didn't move for a moment, collecting herself.

"_Tonight is two friends spending time together. There's no point in acting desperate," _she soothed to herself. She sat still for a moment, readying herself to join Sasuke in the kitchen.

While waiting for Sakura to join him, Sasuke unloaded groceries. He evaluated the room, checking if he needed to disinfect the surfaces first. To his approval, the kitchen appeared clean. During his search, his eyes landed to a photograph displayed proudly on her refrigerator. It was a picture shortly taken after his probationary period when he was allowed to finally return on missions.

Before their first mission as a united team, Kakashi proposed an updated picture of their new ensemble. He had roped some poor genin into taking the photo shortly before they set out on their mission. The picture was an instant success, beloved by all members of the team. All members, except Sasuke.

The center of the picture had Kakashi, his eyes crinkling from a masked smile. Beside Kakashi were both Naruto and Sakura. Sai and Sasuke kneeled before the three. Seconds before the picture was taken, Naruto launched himself atop of Sasuke's back, his fingers slipping into the corners of Sasuke's mouth, creating a forced smile. Sasuke's eyes were enraged with fury. The scene had captured the fake Sasuke smile as well as Sakura giggling from Naruto's secret attack. Naruto grinned in victory over Sasuke's shoulder. Sai stood blankly, smiling politely. Everyone who saw the photo _loved _it. Each personality was prominently and perfectly displayed.

Well, almost everyone loved the photo.

Sasuke considered setting the photo on fire, but Sakura seemed to read his thoughts from the doorway.

"Don't even _think _about it, Uchiha," She warned. He eyed her momentarily before turning to his work.

"Hn," he responded shortly. Sakura moved beside him, watching the ingredients he removed from the package. While anticipating Sasuke had been nerve-wracking, actually having him in her home was kind of soothing.

"So do you know what Naruto's doing tonight?" She asked in attempt for small talk.

"I imagine something stupid," Sasuke answered her. He gave her a look briefly, wondering why on earth she had decided to go on a date with Naruto. Arrogantly reasoning to himself, Sasuke decided that his absence must have left her distraught and dim-witted.

"I guess," she responded softly. "What are we eating tonight?"

"Spaghetti."

"Why do you have whole tomatoes when you already have the sauce?" Sakura asked, peeking into his grocery bag. He stood back a moment, letting her do as she pleased.

"I cut them and put slices in the sauce."

Sakura tried not to giggle at the revelation. Over time, she noticed that Sasuke tended to prefer tomatoes and tomato based food. However, putting chucks of tomatoes into tomato sauce was just redundant.

Sasuke noticed her biting back the giggle, but proceded to place one of her pots onto the stove. She could be giggly all she wanted; he was going to cook the recipe the way he liked.

"Okay," Sakura answered while cracking her fingers. "So how do we do this?"

"We?"

She nodded, her wide green eyes seeming to poke at his skin. What was it with her innocent, happy looks lately?

"Do you know how to cook?" Sasuke questioned. While he liked her attention at the moment, he wasn't about pretend to like horrid cooking.

"Of course! Why? Did you hear differently?" She questioned, her eyes suddenly dropping into suspicious slants.

He _had_ as a matter of fact. Both Sai and Naruto seemed to loath her cooking style, but Sasuke had never cared enough to ask why. He certainly did not imagine he'd be in this position with her. Of course, he was familiar with her short temper and decided not to raise any conflict with her.

"Cut the tomatoes," He ordered, believing there was no way she could mess that up. She beamed at him, quickly getting to work. They stood together for a few minutes, their arms occasionally brushing in the small space. Whenever their skin made contact, Sasuke felt more heat rise up his neck. No words were exchanged, but Sakura didn't feel awkward in the silence. When words did come to her, she babbled harmlessly beside Sasuke.

"You know, we should add spinach. It's got lots of vitamin A, which can be difficult to get in a diet. Plus, it should cook down nicely into the sauce."

Sasuke smirked to himself, suddenly aware why Sakura's cooking was loathed by Sai and Naruto. She must add healthy ingredients to everything.

"Can we?" She posed, giving him the wide eyes again.

"Hn."

Her eyes crinkled in amusement. His lack of objection clearly meant yes.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

Naruto's first guest of the evening was none other than Kiba Inuzuka. His second by association was Akamaru.

Kiba stood outside Sasuke's house, his mouth wide open. Beside him, Akamaru was whimpering with flat laying fur. Kiba looked curiously at his companion, wondering why he was so anxious. He patted the top of Akamaru's head lightly, while eyeing Naruto.

"Akamaru doesn't like this place," he observed with a serious tone.

Naruto nodded anxiously.

"Dogs can sense stuff right?" Naruto reasoned. "Like beyond the human senses?"

Kiba nodded, looking around with Naruo. He sniffed the air lightly.

"Why does it smell like cats?" Kiba questioned, repulsion evident. Akamaru seemed to be questioning the same thing with his dark black eyes. His tail lay flat from the stench of the unholy beasts. He growled in warning, alerting Kiba that felines were near.

Naruto sniffed the air, much like Kiba and Akamaru. He, however, did not have an enhanced sense of smell. All he could smell was the fresh air and trees surrounding the compound.

"Must be some strays…" Naruto reasoned with a shrug. Not caring if there were cats near, Naruto forgot the issue. Excitedly remembering why Kiba stood outside the empty home, Naruto proclaimed his excitement. "Come on inside! I'll show you around while we wait for the party!"

Kiba grinned.

"This'll be so wicked," He beamed in excitement, following Naruto indoors. Akamaru remained a moment, growling. Snapping his head upward, he started to bark at three cats on the roof.

Kiba poked his head out the door.

"Come on, Akamaru. We'll chase cats later!"

Obeying, Akamaru gave the cats a final warning growl before heading indoors.

The three cats lay on the roof, not even startled by the canine's presence.

The chuckled amongst themselves; two licked at their paws lazily.

"Suppose we should tell Sasuke of the intruders?" one questioned.

"I believe he wishes to be left alone…a female is involved," a second one responded.

All three smiled to themselves, knowingly.

"Then we leave him be," the first one concluded. "He is slow to begin the mating process. It would be most inconvenient to stop when he's barely begun to start."

They all agreed. In their opinion, the master was too slow to repopulate the clan. That is, if he even had intentions to do so.

"He _will _be displeased with these happenings," the third one spoke.

The first one rose, stretching lazily.

"We'll alert the others and rid the vermin from the house. Sasuke need not be involved."

Agreeing to the new plan of action, the cats jumped off the roof.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**

Being a medical professional, Sakura was familiar with several aspects of digestion. She knew as a medical fact that stress could interfere with the process. Knowing this, she couldn't help but understand her current loss of appetite. This loss of appetite was far worse than her loss of appetite during last night's meal. Ironically enough, she would have preferred to be eating a meal with her family and team again. Anything, over this.

As dreamy as sharing a meal alone with Sasuke sounded, it was truly at nightmare. First of all, he was completely silent. It wasn't a casual, comfortable silence between friends. It was an awkward silence, as if he were brooding on something.

This was bizarre, since he was in a previously decent mood. He had been pleasant while they prepared the meal. She blushed often during the preparation, giddy from his company.

However, as soon as they sat down to eat, his mood went sour. She didn't know why he was suddenly moody again. All she could gather was that it was reminiscent of his mood earlier that day.

"Do you not like the spaghetti?" she questioned shyly. Heat was creeping along her cheeks.

"Hn," he responded shortly. Sakura wracked her brain to guess what 'hn' meant in this context, but found she could not guess.

"I could get you something else," she offered quietly.

"No," he answered firmly. While their meal tasted nothing like his usual recipe, he did not mind. That's not to say he _liked _it, but he didn't mind. He was pleased in his own way that Sakura helped him cook and gave her own input.

He was plagued, however, with images of her supposed date with Naruto. Did they cook together? Were they here? Were they at his place?

They probably got ramen.

Why would she kiss his cheek just for a ramen date?

Sasuke gave her a strong look, analyzing her. He always believed she was selective with affection. Yes, she was certainly warmer than he was, but he couldn't recall her hugging anyone else. He always assumed the frequent hugs were a gesture of her self-professed love.

Did her lack of physical closeness to him indicate a lack of affection?

Did she still believe she loved him?

Noticing the heavy gaze upon her, Sakura began to fidget with her hair again.

"Is something wrong?" she asked meekly. She thought it strange how Naruto staring at her infuriated her, but Sasuke's stares made her nervous. Actually, if anyone else were at her table right now, they'd be beaten and told to knock it off.

He ignored her, continuing to eat.

Sakura looked downward at her plate. She didn't even bother to slowly eat anymore. The idea of food in her mouth was almost disgusting.

She wished she could think of small talk with Sasuke, but everything she came up with she already knew the answer. She knew his favorite foods, birthday, career goals…. Personal problems… everything. There was really no date small talk she could do at this point. Considering her own career, she was suddenly inspired.

"How's your back?" she burst out suddenly.

"Fine."

"No pain at all?"

"None."

Sakura bit her lip. While she was still feeling incredibly self-conscious, she did appreciate the fact he used a real word. Continuing with the safe topic, she continued with talk of her studies.

"I'm studying the nervous system more in depth right now. Mostly, the perception of pain."

"Aa."

"It's kind of fascinating. For example, if you have a wound you don't know about, sometimes you don't feel it. Like when you find a cut later with dried blood? And you aren't sure how you cut yourself."

"Can't say that happens to me."

"_Hey! He used a full sentence!"_ she thought in victory. A small smile crept across her face from the win.

"I'm also looking into different ways to numb pain.." she continued.

"Is there a reason you aren't eating?" he interrupted.

Her mouth fell open slightly, unsure how to explain. How do you say, "_You're glares and lack of talking makes me nervous, and it's hard to eat when I'm nervous," _to an already pissy Uchiha? She paused, trying to gather herself.

"I have a hard time eating when it's quiet," she explained slowly. _And when you're practically seething for no reason. _Sasuke raised a brow at this.

"My family always talks about their day when we eat. When I eat with the team, Naruto's always talking," she prattled.

"And when you're alone?"

"I turn on the television."

"Hm," Sasuke replied shortly, curious by the concept. Having a rare moment of openness, he spoke his mind to her. "My family meals were quiet."

Sakura tried not to gasp or have her eyes widen in shock. She wasn't surprised the Uchiha's didn't have loud dinner conversation. She was surprised, however, that Sasuke was willing to discuss _anything _about his family with her.

"You didn't talk at all?" she asked. She knew she was playing in dangerous territory with Sasuke. His family was nearly too precious and forbidden to discuss without him nearly blowing up. This would be especially so since he seemed to be already tense.

"We spoke," he clarified. "Only light topics. Nothing too stimulating."

Sakura was completely at utterly fascinated.

"So do you prefer more quiet meals?"

"Yes, but not to the degree you need noise," he answered her. Oddly enough, Sasuke's intensity seemed to drop. No longer receiving hard looks, Sakura felt more comfortable to resume her eating.

"I suppose we can talk some if it helps you eat," he mused aloud to her. She smiled softly, grateful for his cooperation.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**

Only an hour into the party, Naruto felt floaty. If someone were to ask him if he were drunk, he would vehemently deny it. He would argue he was just excited from all of the company.

In reality, he completely intoxicated.

This was partially his own fault, giving in to taking gulps with anyone who asked him to. This was partially Ino's fault, because she kept telling people his death time clock. A third part of him was nervous because he kept hearing strange noises.

Someone had brought music to play in the house, but Naruto was unaware of who. In his current state, he didn't really recognize how many people were even with him. All he knew was that there were a lot, which pleased him. The buzz of the room was playful and fun, but Akamaru wouldn't settle. This, of course, was disturbing to Kiba and the few beside him.

"I saw in a movie once that dogs can see ghosts," Ino blathered, leaning upon Kiba. She jabbed her finger into the air towards Naruto. "And Sakura says you totally think this place is haunted."

Naruto's eyes widened into large round saucers.

"I'm sure it'll be okay honey… I mean if Sasuke won't kill you, his family won't. Clans are hella tight," Ino continued, crossing her fingers into the air. "Even dead ones!"

Naruto paled, but his cheeks remained burning from the alcohol.

The lights flickered before turning completely off. The party was drowned in darkness, silence suffocating the room.

Then, there was a shriek.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**

Shortly after doing dishes, Sakura and Sasuke settled into her living room. Observant to a change from the early afternoon scene, Sasuke lifted the small black box from Sakura's television. He eyed the note left by Ino briefly before placing the gift below Sakura's nose.

Sakura read the note briefly, her face flushing from the sexual innuendo within it.

_You won't want to sleep alone!_

It was almost as if Ino knew Sasuke would be coming over. However, there was no way she could have found out. Sakura had told no one, and she doubted Sasuke was one to share the news of his evening plans.

After looking at the movie Ino had left, Sakura smiled softly.

"Oh, we were talking about this movie last night," she explained. Sasuke gave her a look that prodded her further. "She insisted I see it, but I didn't know she dropped it off."

"People walk into you apartment, leave things, and you aren't aware?" Sasuke scowled.

"Ino tends to let herself in."

Sasuke gave her a reproachful look.

"People shouldn't be able to get in," Sasuke scolded.

"You don't always lock up the compound when you leave!" Sakura argued defensively. How much was he going to nag her about this?

"No one dares come to the compound," he retorted. If only he knew the truth about the ongoing at his compound tonight. "Lock your door. The only time it should be unlocked is when you are going through it."

Sakura almost argued with him further until she came to an epiphany. Sasuke growled at her about security because he was protective… specifically, he was protective of her. Her face flushed, touched by a subtle display of care.

"I'll try to remember, Sasuke-kun," she agreed compliantly.

At the sound of her affectionate suffix for him, Sasuke immediately cooled. In his earlier brooding, he had been wishing for the pet name. Hearing her say it so casually was gratifying. He felt his soft spot for Sakura become exposed.

"Would you like to watch the movie?" he asked softly. His tone was gentle, something unfamiliar. Despite its foreign nature, Sakura found his voice soothing. She nodded agreeably, setting the film up to begin.

While the movie started, she settled beside him on the couch. To her surprise, he was seated closely beside her.

Minutes into the film, Sasuke's arm wrapped around her shoulders. Her heart pounded wildly. So loud, she could almost feel it shaking her frame. It leapt up into her throat, throbbing into her ears. Deciding to cherish a fragile moment, she leaned backward. She settled perfectly under his chin. Her silky hair emanated of a fresh scent, something Sasuke found incredibly attractive about her. Sakura never was too perfumed or sickeningly sweet smelling. In fact, he almost hated sweet smells like he hated sweet food.

Instead, her scent was absolutely pleasing. She was a clean smell of things like white tea, cotton, and violet. Perhaps, there was even an underlying tone of cherry blossoms in her scent.

Sasuke thought with some irony how he often wanted to sully her cleanliness with sweat and moans.

No longer caring about the ridiculous movie, Sasuke became entranced by thoughts of Sakura. All the while, he kept taking in the scent of her hair.

An hour passed, both members blissfully, contently quiet.

When the phone ringed, both jumped, jarred by the disturbance. Sasuke nearly growled at the hand held technology. Sakura whimpered from the disruption, quick to answer.

"Yes?" she breathed into the phone.

"SAKURA-CHAN! SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto cried roughly into the phone. "You have to distract Sasuke!"

Sakura's mouth fell open.

"Naruto…. Are you drunk?"

"What? No! Don't say that! Say I'm not drunk!"

"You're not drunk," Sakura echoed sarcastically.

"Good… now Sasuke won't know a thing," Naruto grinned sloppily into the phone. "Don't let Sasuke go back… I broke his house."

"You did _what?" _

"Shhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Naruto hushed her. There were some bizarre noises in the background, then a click.

Sasuke raised a brow to Sakura.

"What did that idiot do now?"

"I'm not sure…maybe you should go home and check on him?"

Sasuke exhaled in extreme displeasure. That idiot was interrupting a peaceful, tender time _and _possibly destroying his home?

Sasuke would have to kill him. It was final.

"I had fun tonight," Sakura murmured gingerly, distracting Sasuke from plots of murder. Her arms wrapped around him, pulling him into a gentle hug. She held him there for a moment, his arms remaining at his sides.

She was sending him home? With a hug?

What. The. Hell.

That bastard Naruto got a kiss on the cheek and he got a damn hug. She'd been hugging on him for years! Jealousy burned inside of him. If she wasn't going to kiss him on her own, he was going to have to steal one from her. He _certainly_ wasn't going to be outdone by a complete and utter moron.

Sasuke leaned forward slightly, eyeing her lips. He was enchanted by them for a moment, his jealousy suddenly forgotten. A repressed urge found itself bubbling to the surface. His face ticked slightly, unhappy with himself. He wanted something he really shouldn't want... He wanted to press his dry lips against her soft, pink ones. Despite his misgivings against affection, he could no longer deny himself of the sensation, but he also could not bring himself towards being so boldly loving.

Naruto and rivalry was by far the last thing on his mind.

Sakura stared into the heavy gaze he directed towards her. It was unlike any other look he had given her before. She nervously attempted to decipher what was he was thinking, however, found herself unable. Suddenly, he pressed his forehead against hers. His bangs softly tickled her warming cheeks.

"Kiss me," he murmured, a hint of authority in his voice.

Her lips tingled in pure anticipation. Transfixed, her mouth tilted forward.

His lips pressed gently, caressing hers.

The kiss was very tender, but left the couple extremely hot. Sakura's heart was pounding out of control, her breath seemingly lost. She wouldn't dare ask herself why Uchiha Sasuke was caressing her lips; she was trying far too hard to enjoy each slight sensation of his affection.

He pulled away for a moment, ending the tender kiss. He paused, and then realized he wasn't finished. He pressed his lips against hers again, not even resisting desire slightly. Sakura gasped with surprise. How had he become so fevering with affection?

From that moment on, Sasuke decided to no longer resist kissing her.

His hand rose, placing itself on the tender space where her neck met her shoulder. He pulled her closer, not allowing her to escape. As if she would ever want to.

Sakura's shy tongue slipped from her mouth. Instinctively, Sasuke's own tongue met her own. The initial feeling sent shivers down her spine, while he continued to pull her closer. Soon, she was settled onto his lap. Her legs settled to either side of his hips.

She pressed herself against him, also desiring to close any space between them. Her arms wrapped around his neck.

Despite the needy urge to remain close, there was gentleness between them. A soft tenderness that had always been there, but never expressed. Now that their mutual affection was being shared, both members cherished the moment. They refused to taint the blessed union even in the slightest.

Pants were exchanged as the kiss continued. Despite the sensation for more air, the couple did not part. The moment was too long coming, too long awaited for.

Her phone rang again, interrupting their moment for a second time. Sasuke growled aloud this time.

"Saaaaaaaaaaakura-chan," a voice whined into the phone. His voice moaned so loud that Sasuke could hear him perfectly. "Where's Sasuke…. I miiiiiisssss him… I'm scaaaaaared!"

Snatching the phone from her soft hands, Sasuke spoke into the phone.

"I'm coming home. I hope for your sake nothing is out of place."

Then, he hung up.

He lifted her gingerly from his lap, setting her down. He stood, preparing to leave. She remained settled on the sofa, pouting slightly.

"Punch him hard, but don't kill him… Please?"

Sasuke nodded. He eyed her lips again…she was damn irresistible.

He leaned above her again. He placed a firm, closed kiss against her mouth.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

When Sasuke returned home, he was completely disturbed.

All of the house lights were on; however, not a single item lay out of place. That is, except for the drunken blonde on the floor. The pungent smell of alcohol tickled at Sasuke's nose. He nudged Naruto with his foot lightly, but he only rolled over.

Why had Naruto begged him to come home again? What the hell had been going on?

"Idiot," Sasuke grumbled, not bothering to reprimand Naruto. In the morning, he'd interrogate the blonde on what he had done and punish him accordingly. For now, he left him where he lay while heading towards his bedroom.

He wished he could be furious with Naruto but pleasant thoughts of a certain someone kept him passive.

Meanwhile, the Uchiha cats were smirking to themselves in entertainment.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

**AN: **

**We all know that Sasuke would love spaghetti. **

**I wish I could draw. I seriously just want to see the team photo in Sakura's kitchen. It sounds so cute!**

**So, I'm having a debate with myself for this story right now… I'm considering leaving out the lemon to occur in an upcoming chapter and dropping the rating. Sasuke and Sakura have such a sweet thing going, I'm afraid to rush it… but on the other hand… lemons are so tasty. Let me know your opinion in a review! **


	8. Part 8

_When the idiot awoke the next morning, his head split apart in pain. Personally, I believe his headache was born of the gods punishing him for his supreme stupidity. He was a fearful man. He feared the wrath of his best friend….as well he should. _

Sasuke kicked Naruto the next morning on his way to cook breakfast. As Naruto twitched in pain on the floor, Sasuke began to cook in the kitchen. The blonde would have liked to scream at the Uchiha for kicking him, but he was too paralyzed in pain to even try. His ears screeched in horror as he listened to Sasuke slam several pots and pans around. Naruto assumed correctly that Sasuke was behaving in this way to punish him.

He also assumed correctly that he had fainted last night from fear and not from an excess of alcohol.

His mind slowly gathered what had happened before the party was so rudely interrupted.

The first mysterious event that ruined the party was the loss of the lights. When the power went out, everything went silent. The music, the voices… everything.

He recalled hearing a female shriek, saying something _silky_ had brushed up against her arm. A second voice theorized that there had been a power surge, asking Naruto where the circuit breaker was. As if he knew! He probably wouldn't have known if it were his own home.

Someone pulled back the curtains, allowing the moonlight to stream through.

"Let's go to my place," Ino suggested to the party, pulling on Naruto's arm. "This place is starting to creep me out."

Naruto remembered vividly how shadows began to move across the walls. Bizarrely. When his eyes followed the shadows, he found them to be connected to nothingness. Immediately, he believed he was viewing the shadows of the angered Uchiha.

"Let's roll out everyone!" Kiba called, Akamaru close in tow. Remembering his promise to his companion, Kiba bent to whisper. "We'll go cat hunting now."

Akamaru whined, sensing something ominous. When almost everyone had gone outside, Naruto stood alone in the dark house. At least, he believed that he had been alone.

"Naruto-kun," a whimpering voice murmured beside him. Naruto jumped in fear before realizing from whom the voice spoke. Fear was evident in her voice, but not from anything related to restless spirits. Her fear emanated from shyness and an overwhelming desire to be close to her loved one.

"Hinata-chan," He breathed slowly. Moonlight from the windows streaked across her ebony hair.

"I've wanted to talk to you," she confessed shyly, looking away. Her eyes looked shiny, almost wet. "But everyone was here… and…"

Glass shattered suddenly, interrupting her.

Naruto's head snapped to the table in the next room. A drinking glass had fallen from the table, only to shatter upon the ground. He paused, wondering how it fell. Then, a second one shattered. Followed by a third.

Swaggering drunkenly, Naruto pulled Hinata's arm.

"Let's go," he ushered her. He pulled her outside with him, as he heard a fourth glass shatter.

He swore he also heard a voice hissing, "_And don't bring those filthy people back!"_

Finally free from the house, Naruto made his first call to Sakura. He couldn't have Sasuke return with the electricity off and several broken glasses!

After the phone call, Naruto turned to Hinata.

"You should head home," he urged her. He wasn't exactly sure where _he _was going, but he felt the urge to protect her from the unknown.

The house lights suddenly turned themselves back on. Naruto's eyes widened in horror.

He turned to Hinata, patting her shoulders. He put on a brave face; her comfort at that moment was of the upmost concern.

"Don't worry, Hinata-chan," He smiled fakely. His smile came off a little crooked due to his drinking, however. "Go join, Kiba. Okay?"

Hinata nodded. However, she didn't wish to part with Naruto at all. The entire party she had been hiding from him, secretly desiring to be close. Her entire week had been ruined and riddled with guilt over Naruto. Despite the awkwardness between them, she felt desperate to stay close.

"Kiba!" Naruto cried. "Kiba!"

The brunette wasn't far at all. In fact, he remained close because Akamaru was sniffing out the cats. He jogged up lightly, his eyebrows rising in surprise to see Hinata. He believed that she had been too shy to even bother showing up to the party. Regardless, he must have ushered her home.

That's at least what Naruto had concluded. His memory of their brief conversation was fuzzy due to his fear and alcohol.

Regardless, Naruto sat outside of the house after they left. No longer caring about Sasuke's wrath, he called for his friend to come home. Thus, it was his second drunk dial of the night. While waiting for Sasuke, he grew restless and went inside. There, he saw a black cat sitting proudly on the kitchen table. The cat hissed, and Naruto fainted in fright.

While he was unconscious, the cats had tidied up the entire home. Sasuke did not suspect a thing in regards to a party.

Moodily, Sasuke returned to the dining room where Naruto lay upon the floor. Bluntly, he began to interrogate Naruto on last night's happenings.

"Where did you get drunk?" Sasuke asked boldly. Taken off guard, Naruto immediately struggled to lie.

"Uh… some training ground somewhere."

"You got drunk in public?"

"Yeah."

Sasuke scoffed in disgust. Better he was disgusted with public intoxication than invasion of his home, Naruto reasoned to himself.

"Why were you drinking?"

"A group of us thought it'd be fun," Naruto explained, gingerly caressing his own sore head. "Since I don't have long…."

"You said you broke my house to Sakura," Sasuke reminded him, giving him a strong glare.

"Well, I actually broke a few glasses. I was trying to get some water…" Naruto drawled out his lie. He looked around the house, noticing that everything was perfectly in place. It was as if the spirits had cleaned the household…. Sasuke leaned back, his arms crossed.

"You are lying," he responded audaciously. "And I will find out the truth."

Naruto paled, hoping Sasuke would find out the truth sometime _after _he was dead. With a cold shoulder, Sasuke left to eat his own breakfast. He had not bothered to make Naruto any.

"I have only four days left to live!" Naruto whined after Sasuke, trying to thaw his cold friend. When pity did not work, he tried a method of distraction.

"So how were things with Sakura-chan?" He called to Sasuke. As to be expected, Sasuke chose to ignore him.

There was a long pause before Naruto began to complain.

"Oh come ooooooonnn!"

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

Sakura's day up until the mission set off time had been supremely uneventful. Her laundry was finished. Her apartment was clean. Her studies weren't appealing…..and she sure as hell wasn't going to go see what Sasuke and Naruto were doing. She imagined several violent fights, but she knew she would have been useless in pulling the two apart. In fact, she probably would have joined in on beating Naruto.

Thus, when late afternoon arrived, she felt supreme relief. She was early to the edge of the village, clearly spotting the client. Considering the bored tone of the man, Sakura could only assume that it had to be the man.

Despite the bored look, he had energy about him. He twitched slightly looking for something to occupy him. His hair was long, reaching past his shoulders. Towards the ends, his hair curled into large loose locks. Most likely there was a substantial female population that would have killed for such luxurious, expensive looking hair. Overall, he appeared to look overwhelmingly feminine.

She wished her male teammates would have been early like her, so she wouldn't have to introduce herself on her own. Smiling friendly, she reached out her hand to the awaiting man.

"Hello, I'm Sakura Haruno. I'll be part of the team that is escorting you."

Suddenly, the bored man's face lit up. He reached for her hand, however, so that he to pull it to his lips. Sakura's eye twitched in annoyance. She would have liked to strike him off, but remembered it probably wasn't too professional to hit the man she was escorting. Despite being unable to strike, she immediately pulled her hand away.

"Not one for charm, eh?" the man teased. Then, he winked. "That's alright, I'll get ya."

Oh heavens.

Ignoring her obvious discomfort, he introduced himself.

"My name's Renos, but you can call me whatever you like," he grinned. He wasn't the smoothest flirt. In fact, his bold manner seemed to come across as more of a joke than anything serious. Perhaps he always acted this way when he was nervous.

"Hmmm…." He gave her a strong look, eyeing her up and down. "You're hair is shorter than mine."

Sakura frowned at the tone of his observation.

"But you're still really cute," he winked. When she frowned further, he grew unhappy with his failed attempt to flatter her. "What's wrong itty bitty?"

"Look," Sakura responded seriously. "Don't let the men of my team catch you talking like that."

"Possessive, huh?"

Sakura gave a smirk.

"You could say so," She responded.

"I can see why. If you were my teammate, I'd never let anyone near you. You're too hot."

Her face fell.

"See, that leads me to believe you can't get it together."

He winked before he continued to tease her.

"I'll try my best, honey. That is, until we're alone."

Oh Lord.

Before Sakura had the chance to lose her temper or consider the horrors of what could go wrong on this mission, a loud cry emitted into the air.

"SAKURA-CHAN!"

Looking over her shoulder, she watched as Naruto bound rapidly towards her like a puppy. His excitement for the mission was visible from the grin on his face. Beyond Naruto, she could see Sasuke and Sai making their way to join her.

Sasuke looked so…. _Alluring. _

Her face heated from thoughts of his kiss. Jarring her from steamy thoughts was Naruto's half way tackle half way hug. As he greeted her in aggressive affection, he glanced over at the client.

"Ready to be escorted by the best ninja alive?" Naruto cheered at the man. Sakura had no idea what caused Naruto to be so excitable for the mission, but it was almost comical. This is, if she weren't so mortified by his completely inappropriate demeanor in front of a patron. Fortunately, this Renos character seemed to take faith in Naruto's personality.

"At the price I'm paying you people, I should get the best ninja alive," Renos joked, reaching his hand out to Naruto. The two shook hands firmly.

Sasuke eyed the man, but didn't bother to introduce himself. Sai, of course, could not contain his brash nature.

"You look like a woman."

Apparently Renos did not take this as a compliment. Sakura felt an awkward shiver run up her spine. This mission would be far less than enjoyable.

Thankfully, they did not have to escort this strange man far. It appeared that he was taking a holiday through the Fire Country, going from hot spring to hot spring. The man chattered incessantly, which led to several discoveries.

Discovery number one was that he was a wealthy upper class citizen, who also happened to be close personal friends with the Fire Daimyo. This allowed the team to conclude why they had been given such a seemingly simple mission.

The second discovery was that this man was in immediate danger. All those around him were always in danger as well, due to a romance gone wrong. As foreshadowed by his flirtations with Sakura, he was a complete man whore. He had been engaged recently, but unable to remain loyal. Logically, his fiancée was upset. However, her anger had boiled her into a temporary insanity.

"This guy is such a lecher," Sasuke muttered softly to Sakura. She nodded in agreement. During their walk, they had heard way beyond too much regarding this man's personal life. Currently, he was continuing his tale to Sai.

"My hair used to be longer," The Casanova explained with sorrow. Sai listened intently, finding the man to be completely fascinating. Such flamboyant personalities were uncommon to him. "But when I decided to break things off she set me on fire."

Sai tilted his head curiously.

"I was asleep… then she just came into my bedroom with matches and…"

Sai's eyes widened in horror. He did not imagine that the mating process could be so hazardous. Logically, he was concerned in regards to his own safety in mating. He looked backward, directly at Sakura. A second opinion was necessary.

"Would you set a man on fire if he displeased you, Ugly?"

Continuing to walk, Sakura placed her face into her hands. Before she even dared to respond, Naruto answered for her.

"No way! Sakura-chan would never set a man on fire!"

_Thank you, Naruto. _

"She'd beat him to a bloody pulp! Get her mad and she can't control those fists."

Sakura felt the heat of embarrassment crawl upon her, but she was unaware that Sasuke was feeling a similar heat.

"Shut up, both of you," He warned in an even tone. Naruto obeyed immediately, fearing that Sakura would strike him any moment. Sometimes in the heat of conversation, he forgot how fast and painful her punches could be. In his mind, it would be totally _lame _to be beaten by her in front of a client. Especially if the client was close buddies with the Fire Daimyo.

Regardless of the tension of the team, Renos continued his story.

"I think taking the ring back is what set her over the edge. She screamed I couldn't give it to another woman… then she tried to cut off my fingers."

Sai looked even more horrified.

"And now she's trying to kill me. Isn't love strange?"

Sakura looked at her watch, praying that nightfall would come soon. Anything to draw this mission closer to an end.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

Lying in bed, Sakura should have been sleepy. She should have been exhausted from the several awkward awakening hours, but her heart remained unsettled. The source of her discontent was obvious. It was the same source of discontent in her life as usual. A nearly constant itch…

She wanted to be with Sasuke.

Sometimes she feared her feelings towards him were sick, like it was obsessive. When she was young, she told herself it was love. As she grew older, she reasoned that she first felt simple infatuation, then the care of a beloved teammate. However, the second theory could be undeniably dismissed. Maybe it had been a crush at one time… but now..

Sakura threw her blankets off of her in a huff. The room was far too hot at that moment.

What she felt now… it was certainly nothing simple. Especially since she knew now what his kisses felt like.

She kicked the blankets at her feet to the floor.

It wasn't that she just wanted to be with Sasuke… it was something needier. She wanted to talk to him more. She wanted alone time with him again. She felt needy for attention and certainly didn't feel like sharing time with anyone else.

What was even more horrid was that she couldn't visit Sasuke right now anyway. He was probably still on guard.

Due to the overly hormonal nature of their client, the team decided it was best Sakura did not guard him for the night. He surely would be waiting for her to be alone outside his room…. And Sakura pummeling him really wasn't a desired outcome of the mission. The three remaining teammates would be taking turns being guards.

She eyed her clock for a moment. Sasuke's shift should have ended around ten minutes ago…

A terrible, stupid idea crept into her mind. A terrible, inappropriate, unwise, idea. Sakura shuddered and told herself how she certainly should not take _that _course of action.

Ignoring her better judgment, Sakura rose from her bed to visit the person who plagued her thoughts.

Her feet anxiously moved down the hallway. She was quick. She certainly didn't want to be caught sneaking into Sasuke's room in the middle of the night. Everyone would assume she had tainted intentions, while her desires were actually quite pure. She just missed him.

She knocked quietly on his door, so as to only alert him. She waited a moment, hearing movement through the door. Once the door opened, her breath caught.

Sasuke stood before her, his eyes still alert. He hadn't been sleeping, and he didn't look bothered to see her. In fact, he looked a little pleased. Not understanding why, Sakura felt herself begin to blush under his gaze.

"Sakura…" He greeted softly. His tone was low, but not quite a whisper. The sound shook her frame a little, making her giddy. Her stomach leapt up into her throat.

"Hi," she greeted shyly. Their eyes made contact for a moment before interruption.

"Sakura-chan? Is that you?" a voice called from the bedroom.

Instantly her stomach fell. So much for alone time.

"Naruto's here?" she stated in obvious disappointment. As if suddenly remembering Naruto's presence, Sasuke cast a glare over his shoulder. He definitely would have preferred alone time with Sakura to Naruto.

"Unfortunately," Sasuke grumbled.

After his shift guarding, he had planned to sneak off to visit Sakura briefly. However, he had been unfortunate in meeting Naruto in the hallway. Naruto was anxiously pacing back and forth, debating some issue to himself. Looking up with joy to see Sasuke, Naruto was quick to pounce on him for attention.

"Can I sleep in your room tonight?" he bluntly asked. Surely, he'd be less anxious with the company of his best friend.

"No," Sasuke answered firmly. Sasuke had incorrectly assumed Naruto was fretting over his stupid death clock. "No one is going to accidently attack you tonight. Go to bed."

Naruto blinked, almost considering to tell his fellow nin what was _really_ bothering him. However… there were some issues that he wasn't ready to talk about with anyone. Even with his closest friend. Regardless, Naruto tried to persuade Sasuke.

"I'd be able to sleep if I was with you."

"I said no."

"Why not?" Naruto whined. "We share beds on missions all the time."

"Because we have to," Sasuke reasoned. "We _don't_ have to tonight."

"Come oooooonnnn," Naruto continued to whine.

"No. People already think we're gay."

Naruto stared in horror.

"I'll be dead in three days! And you are worried about your sexuality? Why didn't you prove that you're straight last night with Sakura?" he cried out in anger.

Sasuke quickly covered his mouth and dragged him down the hallway. Once behind closed doors, Sasuke told him to leave. Naruto obeyed.

Only to return with his sleeping mat…

Deciding that he'd have to wait a day to be alone with Sakura, Sasuke huffed in annoyance and crawled onto his own mat. He considered pummeling Naruto, but his knew there would be serious consequences… both in his career for attacking a teammate and from Sakura for breaking a promise.

Now, clearly seeing Sakura at his doorway, Sasuke was ready to murder Naruto. Sakura stepped into the room, closing the door behind her.

"Naruto?" she questioned. "Why are you here?"

"I couldn't sleep," Naruto explained bashfully.

"So you thought you'd sleep better if you were with Sasuke?"

Naruto nodded timidly. He knew he sounded childish, but Sakura could understand occasionally.

"That's kinda gay," she teased with a smirk.

His face fell into one of shock and annoyance. From behind her, Sakura thought she heard Sasuke snort. Flustered, Naruto was quick to change the topic.

"So why are _you_ here, Sakura-chan?" he asked curiously. Sakura felt her smirk of amusement instantly drop. Did Naruto know about her and Sasuke? Would this be an appropriate time to tell him?

What _exactly _was going on between her and Sasuke?

Dumbfounded, Sakura's mouth fell open a little as she tried to babble out a lie. Why was she in Sasuke's room late at night? Why was she in Sasuke's room late at night? Think, Think, Think!

"Were you harassed by the pervert?" Sasuke prompted, trying to usher her into a lie. Taking his cue, Sakura babbled a reason out quickly.

"Oh, I couldn't sleep in that room alone. I was afraid I'd wake up to him trying to get into bed with me," she babbled rapidly. "But I knew he wouldn't bother you boys… so I decided to ask if I could sleep here."

Naruto nodded in understanding. Then, he grinned.

"Awesome! We all get to share a room together!"

Sakura gave him a weak smile, thankful he bought the lie. Sasuke grimaced, unhappy that Sakura's presence had stirred Naruto into a greater state of alertness.

Not to mention having her so close would probably keep him up as well…

Naruto was quick to move his sleeping mat against Sasuke's so the three of them to lie upon largely one bed. Sakura smiled at Sasuke, wishing she could remind him that when Naruto left for his turn to guard, they'd be alone. Knowing the best way to prevent inevitable night time fights between the combustible pair, Sakura settled herself into the center of the mats. Sasuke laid upon the left, throwing some of his blanket on her. He settled onto his back, his face slightly tilted towards Sakura. Naruto grinned, bouncing somewhat in excitement.

"Go to bed, damn it," Sasuke hissed.

"But this is so fun! It's like a sleep over!"

Sasuke huffed in annoyance.

"We're on a mission," he reminded.

"Oh you aren't any fun! I just wanna stay close in case I don't have much time left!"

Both Sasuke and Sakura sighed in unison.

"You are such a child," Sasuke grumbled, rolling onto his side, facing away from his teammates. Naruto snickered, falling into a relaxed, stretched pose.

As minutes passed, Sakura felt herself grow drowsy. As disappointed as she was to see Naruto in the room, she was glad to have him near. Of course, she would have preferred to be alone with Sasuke, but sometimes… sometimes the three of them needed more time together. Maybe from the devastation of being apart for so long. After being so far away from one another, they maybe belonged close to fix it. Sakura felt herself slowly unwind, her breath going even.

"I'm really disappointed I won't ever have any kids, ya know?" Naruto confessed aloud into the night. Sakura rolled over, trying to cover her ears. So much for sleep.

Surprisingly, Sasuke listened somewhat sympathetically. He heavily regarded the importance of family, as well as the obligation of passing one's heritage down the line. However, he did not voice his sympathy aloud. He especially didn't want to encourage Naruto's fear of dying.

"Hey, teme," Naruto said, rolling onto his stomach. "You're planning on having children, right?"

Sakura felt her heart stop. Naruto _seriously _wasn't discussing children right now…. Was he? To make matters worse, Sasuke did not tell him to shut up. Instead, he replied.

"Possibly."

"What?" Naruto cried, his jaw falling wide open. "I thought you were gonna have like ten or something! You know, restore your clan and all?"

Sasuke paused in thought. Sakura covered her mouth, trying not to gasp in horror. _10 children?_

"I refuse to marry solely for procreation purposes," Sasuke replied. "That would unduly affect the children."

Naruto cracked a smile.

"You know, your kids have no chance at being normal any way, right?"

Sasuke, reaching over Sakura, punched Naruto on the upper arm roughly.

"Anyway…. You say this stuff now, but if you don't have a baby in five years, you'll be totally freaking out!" Naruto grinned, while rubbing his sore arm. "You'll be all, 'I must preserve my precious, powerful bloodline!' "

Ironically, Sasuke found himself agreeing with Naruto; however, he was not about to express the sentiment out loud.

"Is there a point to this conversation or are you just musing aloud?" Sasuke snapped. The bizarreness of the conversation was not lost on him. Agreement or not.

"Well…" Naruto drawled, trying to find a way to ask for one of his final requests. "I'm kind of hoping that you'll name one of your sons after me? "

There was a nervous pause in the air.

"Never."

"Why the hell not!" Naruto guffawed

"I'm not naming my child after ramen. Much worse, a character from a sex novel named after ramen."

"He wouldn't be after ramen or sex!" Naruto whined. "He'd be named after me!"

"Regardless, my valued child will not have the namesake a loudmouth, dead last idiot," Sasuke concluded.

"I'm your best friend, damn it!"Naruto cried, launching himself at Sasuke. Atop of the Uchiha, Naruto tried to throttle his neck for the insult. Sakura stood quickly, grabbing Naruto by his waist. She had been swift, interrupting any actual physical attack.

"Come on you two.." She groaned, tired of the breakout fight. How had she been foolish enough to believe she could actually get any sleep?

"Sasuke started it by being an ass!" Naruto explained in frustration.

Sakura starred at the pair.

"_Really_? You're fighting over someone who isn't even conceived?" Sakura huffed, her face growing hot in the dark. She kept silent on the issue, fearing it was too bizarre to join in. She threw Naruto back into his place. Sasuke scoffed.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted. "I won't be alive by the time the little bastard is born!"

Sakura fell back into her spot between the two.

"Well.. the name Uchiha Naruto _does_ sound stupid," Sakura muttered to herself, trying to calm both males down. Forgetting her decision to not get involved, she attempted to sooth Naruto. "But I'm sure Sasuke will find a way to name a son after you… like a name similar to yours or something.."

Both Naruto and Sakura tried to ignore Sasuke's mumbling of the phrase, 'not likely'. Naruto lay on his back, thinking. He tried to match different aspects of his namesake with the last name Uchiha. Oddly enough, he found that names that fit with the last name were rare. Eventually the persistent man tasted triumph.

"Oh!" Naruto exclaimed, full of inspiration. "How about Uchiha Rasegan? That's a good boy's name!"

Sakura chuckled, immediately entertained by the notion. She couldn't stop herself from responding sarcastically. "And if it's a girl, he could name it Uchiha Chidori."

Sasuke sat up in horror, staring the two down. He felt cheated by fate. The only woman he regarded with romantic interest was conjuring up terrible names for their children. He swiftly attempted to set her on the correct path.

"Neither of you morons are allowed near my children," he warned. Not that he really meant the statement in either regards.

Knowing this, both Naruto and Sakura fell into a fit of giggles.

The lighthearted topic eased Naruto's mind, temporarily quelling his concerns. He forgot for a moment about death and his legacy. His mind drifted into nothingness, his breath evening out into small snores. Familiar with the sound, neither Sakura nor Sasuke was disturbed.

In his soothed sleep, Naruto remained unaware of a pair of entwined hands. Sakura's fingers reached for Sasuke's, immediately wrapping them. Soon, Sasuke would follow suit with Naruto, soothed the gentle touch. Sakura brushed her thumb back and forth against the back of his hand, sneaking peaks of him dozing off.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

Sasuke had two immediate annoyances when he awoke.

His first annoyance had been that Naruto was unusually quiet when it was his turn to guard. Sasuke had not been awoken, thus, he did not receive any actual alone time with Sakura. Not that he would have been likely to wake her up anyway.

His second annoyance was born of Sakura sleeping on his shoulder. He didn't mind her sleeping upon him; In fact, the pressure of her body against his was comforting. He was displeased that he could not enjoy her closeness. This was because of annoyance number three.

Sai was in bed with them.

"Do we sleep together now on missions?" Sai innocently asked. "Because I find this to be burdensome."

Sasuke glared at the wall, unhappy that Sai's chatter was waking Sakura up. Her body stirred unhappily from a similar annoyance he was experiencing. He knew that soon she'd be off of his shoulder, but in the meantime she whined softly and clung closer.

His antisocial nature resisted pushing her off. It wasn't anything personal; Sasuke just wasn't used to such extended contact. She yawned against him, paralyzing him from any movement. Any thoughts he had of removing her was instantly quelled. Her soft sounds made him only want to bring her closer.

Sakura wasn't in the mood to get up at all, especially since Sasuke's scent was making her groggy. Laying still and breathing him in would have been far more preferable. She was far too comfortable sleeping against the back of his shoulder to move. She wasn't sure how she had come to this position in the night, but she certainly didn't want to move away. She groaned unhappily, pressing her cheek against his backside.

"I thought sleeping together had sexual connotations," Sai questioned. "But Naruto assured me this arrangement was not sexually based. Could you explain the difference?"

"Stop talking," Sakura muttered, her voice muffled by Sasuke's shirt. If it were physically possible, she would have buried herself further into the Uchiha's back.

"Also, I was under the impression you did not like physical interaction?" Sai continued to ask, his gaze directed at Sasuke. "Do you want all of us to lay on you from now on? Or just Ugly?"

"Do not come anywhere near me," Sasuke cautioned, hoping Sai would shut up. He really didn't want to answer, but he was afraid Sai would try to lie on his back. Even if Sai didn't want to, Sasuke knew the social struggler would obey what he believed to be protocol.

"Your exclusiveness leads me to believe sleeping together _is_ sexually based…" Sai trailed off in confusion.

"I'm willing to pay you money if you shut up," Sakura groaned, rolling off of Sasuke. Sai's banter was tip toeing towards full blown inappropriate, which she was prepared to stop by all means.

Sai watched her with interest. He ignored the statement, continuing to address his concerns.

"I read once that men are supposed to offer women to do things first. The term I believe is 'Ladies First'," he explained. "I would like to shower. However, I will offer that you shower first. Please do so."

Sakura would have chuckled at Sai's style of speech, but she was far too sleepy to care. She nodded at him, sitting up. Rubbing her eyes, she made her way to the small bathroom attached.

Sai turned his gaze to Sasuke, who was slowly sitting up.

"I've observed things are different between you and Ugly," he trailed off thoughtfully. "Dickless has yet to notice."

"Hn."

There was a pause, Sai continuing to think aloud.

"Perhaps he has misread communications between you and Ugly?" he questioned to Sasuke, but also to himself.

"Aa."

"I assume you are waiting to tell Naruto when the week is through. At least, that is what I advise," Sai concluded to Sasuke. Sasuke rolled his eyes, trying not to feel offended that Sai was offering him social advice.

"Sakura told me once that Naruto doesn't respond to new ideas well when he is under pressure. Sometimes he'll even ignore them. Like with that Hyuga girl…"

Sasuke suddenly snapped to attention. His raised a brow at Sai. Sai tilted his head, being that he was unable to read Sasuke's body language.

"What happened?" Sasuke asked.

"With Hyuga Hinata?"

Sasuke nodded.

"She confessed to Naruto that she was in love with him. However, he never responded," Sai explained, his tone rather dull. "I was under the impression that you always respond clearly to a person's love confession."

Sasuke was instantly reminded of a certain someone's love confession. He stilled instantly in a thought.

"I asked Sakura for clarification. She told me that Naruto probably didn't know how he felt towards the Hyuga girl, but he never would address the issue. He was far too concerned with finding you."

Sasuke remained silent, looking straight ahead. He rarely felt guilt, even towards his darkest of deeds. The only time guilt resided within him was in regards to Naruto and Sakura. At this moment, he felt guilt towards both.

"Do you think it's wrong?" Sai asked, drawing Sasuke from his brooding.

"What?"

"Ignoring a love confession? Acting as if nothing happened?" Sai questioned.

The room felt silent. Sasuke was unwilling to answer, but he knew Sai would draw the answer from him. Eventually, he voiced his opinion aloud.

"Yes."

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

**Author Note:**

**Team seven cuddle puddle… could there be anything better? Leave a review! ^_^**


	9. Part 9

**Author's Notes:**

**These next two chapters are very intertwined… so I decided to wait and post them in unison. Enjoy!**

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

_When the idiot believed he had three days left to live, he had a near death experience. He nearly died on a mission when he guzzled a tainted cup of green tea..._

On his stomach, Naruto began to whine.

"Sa—suu—ke…" he groaned unhappily. What kind of cruel fate had left him with Sasuke as a caretaker and not Sakura?

_You see, the idiot had been escorting a man who had wronged his fiancée. The fiancée had attempted to punish the man using a poisoned tea. However, when a stranger offered free tea, the man declined. The man knew better than to accept food from strangers. _

"Saaa-suuu-keee," Naruto called unhappily again.

_The idiot, however, was more than happy to drink the contaminated tea. _

Naruto remained on his stomach, motionless. He believed his end was most likely near, and it was infuriating that Uchiha Sasuke didn't care in the slightest. His death threat had nearly come to fruition at the near end of his mission. After dropping the man off to his new hot spring and having a single cup of tea, the team was headed home.

Nearly two hours later, Naruto felt a strong, piercing stomach pain. He cried out for Sakura, foam spitting from his mouth. He couldn't remember much else except excruciating throbbing as Sakura healed him. Her face was skewed in fear, yet her fingers remained skilled and powerful. Once he was healed, he fell into an unconscious state.

When he awoke, he was neatly tucked into his bed in the Uchiha house.

He called for Sasuke again, trying to gain more attention. Surprisingly, Sasuke appeared in the doorway.

"What haaaaaaaaappened?" Naruto whined, rather pathetically. "And why am I not in the hospital?"

Sasuke stood for a moment, feeling a little pity towards the sick young man. Sure, Naruto deserved whatever came his way, but he looked dismal enough to gain a little sympathy. His wide blue eyes were bloodshot complete with dark half moons beneath them. His skin was pale, an almost yellow shade.

"Sakura said you do not need to be in the hospital," Sasuke explained, waking over to Naruto. "You have a chemical induced food poisoning. A mild one."

"I'm gonna die," Naruto puffed into his pillow.

"At worst you are going to throw up," Sasuke informed. "Sakura would have come home with us from the hospital, but they needed her."

"And she couldn't say no? Not this once? When I'm dying?" Naruto grumbled. He knew he was having a rather childish reaction, but he swore he was close to death. His stomach continued to churn wildly, making his intestines quiver.

"You are not dying. Sakura performed tests on your condition," Sasuke confirmed in annoyance. Naruto moaned unhappily again.

"Did she at least give me any medicine?" he murmured.

"Something to calm your stomach," Sasuke answered. "I assumed you'd like it now?"

Despite his trembling tummy, Naruto nodded excessively for Sasuke's help. Rolling his eyes, Sasuke turned around to leave.

"Fine, I'll brew it for you."

"Brew?"

"It's a tea," Sasuke responded in irritation.

"No more teas!" Naruto cried out, sitting up in bed. Taking his favorite communication method of choice, Sasuke ignored him.

He fell backwards, awaiting his friend's return. Temporarily feeling sorry for himself, he wondered why he had to spend his last days in bed feeling miserable. He hoped his death would be something more heroic… like saving the life of a beloved friend. Or maybe something exciting… like dying from terrific sex. Anything, except an upset stomach with Sasuke as a nurse.

Thoughts of death on mind, he wished he had more time, almost shaking from fear and loneliness. He cried out for Sasuke again, but was ignored. He waited miserably, wishing the Uchiha would come back.

When Sasuke did return, Naruto nearly tackled him in excitement.

"I missed you," He babbled, while sipping on his tea. Sasuke rolled his eyes, sitting at the foot of his bed.

"You've become more of a child," he insulted, giving Naruto a pointed look. Naruto didn't care about the glares or pointed looks. All he cared was that he wouldn't be left alone.

"Did she say how long it'd take for the tea to work?" he asked in between guzzling down the tea.

"No."

"Hopefully, we can go out and do something fun soon," Naruto continued to babble.

"You need to rest."

"I don't need to rest…" Naruto drawled, laying back. He stared into his empty tea cup. It's white, almost lavender porcelain color distracted him. He stopped. Suddenly, his anxious desire to leave was quelled.

"You're staying here," Sasuke ordered Naruto, standing to leave.

"Where are you going?" Naruto pouted, rising to follow Sasuke. The dark haired nin cast a glance over his shoulder at Naruto. Giving a long sigh of exasperation, he gave into the needy man.

"Nowhere," he grumbled. Grinning, Naruto grew excited for a bonding time.

"We could watch TV...I promise I won't talk the whole time!"

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke found his way into the living room.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

Following Sasuke's order, Naruto did not leave the house. His stomach was fine enough. It still hurt, but he normally would have gone out. No, he wasn't leaving the house for another reason.

He was contemplating. Debating. Thinking.

It should have been about accepting his mortality, but it wasn't. His concerns regarded sharing. Why was it impossible to share some things and some people? When Sakura and Sasuke shared at date, he wasn't the least bit jealous. In fact, he was proud he had set the date up. Despite Sasuke acting aloof over the matter, Naruto secretly hoped they really liked each other.

But.. When he considered an identical situation with other people…..

Why was the chance of losing something that was never yours painful? Maybe because it _was_ yours. You didn't want to acknowledge it to be so, but that thing… it was definitely yours.

He scratched his head. Philosophy was far beyond his scope, especially since he was such a bold person. He didn't need to think. He just _did. _

But he couldn't _do _right now. He knew he would meet his concern soon…

He glanced over at Sasuke, who peered into the screen. Naruto could tell Sasuke wasn't watching, but mulling over his own issues.

But when wasn't Sasuke acting a little angsty?

Naruto realized to his dismay that his cowardly ponderings was making him behave like the frustrating Uchiha. Unable to contain himself, Naruto tried to open a discussion.

"Hey… so I was thinking about something…" Naruto grumbled, rubbing at the back of his head. Sasuke tilted his face towards him.

"Let's say you weren't sure if you loved someone…"

If Naruto were more observant, he would have noticed Sasuke's eyes widen some.

"How would you figure it out? Or is it something you just know?"

Sasuke glared for a moment, heat crawling across his cheeks. His head snapped away, not amused.

"What are you getting at?" Sasuke hissed slightly.

"I don't know! I was just wondering! I don't have a reason or anything!" Naruto muttered defensively, his hands up in the air.

Sasuke's mouth pressed into a line.

When he didn't respond, Naruto assumed that Sasuke was following his usual trait of ignoring him. Pouting from rejection, Naruto's shoulders slumped some.

It was probably best. Sasuke most likely didn't know the answer to the question either.

So when the Uchiha did finally speak, Naruto nearly fell from the couch in surprise.

"I think you wouldn't know until you thought it over," Sasuke rejoined lowly. His soft manner, something unfamiliar. "It's a commitment."

"So, committing to someone means you love them?" Naruto asked, afraid Sasuke would start hissing again.

"There's more to it than that…." Sasuke answered quietly. His eyes were half lidded in thought. Naruto remained oblivious that he was guiding Sasuke through his own ponderings.

"And you wouldn't want to share them… right?"

Sasuke didn't answer. He remained lost in something. When he continued to remain silent, Naruto prodded him lightly with his sock covered foot.

"I think their benefit over your own is more key to the issue," he concluded softly.

Naruto nodded, hoping more wisdom would spill from the Uchiha's head. He stared intently, waiting for a clear answer. Lost in his stares at the Uchiha, Naruto remained unaware of the figure in the door way.

"Are you two going to confess that you love each other now?" Sai interrupted.

Immediately, Naruto and Sasuke's face grew red at the interrupting figure. As always, violence and chaos was swift to follow.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

Trapped inside a hospital, Sakura was having a similar sensation in her stomach. Only hers was based off of being unable to escape to her warm bed and a hot shower. Knowing her freedom was merely paperwork away, she continued to rush her pen across several forms.

When her phone lit up, she didn't bother to see who was calling. Based off of her week, she assumed it was her favorite pest.

"How's your stomach?" she asked, tilting her head to hold the phone. With her free hands, she continued to speed through papers.

"Sasuke's tea helped a little… but it still hurts"

Sakura smiled softly, thinking of Sasuke acting as Naruto's caretaker. According to a bizarre message Sai had left on her phone, Naruto was about to confess his love to Sasuke. Knowing that Sai had to be wrong, she wondered _exactly what _was going on in the Uchiha household. Furthermore, she didn't understand why Sai showed up briefly to observe the scene, only to leave again.

"Your stomach should have settled out by now…" Sakura mumbled softly to herself.

"What if you misdiagnosed?" Naruto whispered in fear. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"I know I didn't misdiagnose. You are too stressed. You're making your stomach ache worse… try relaxing."

There was a long pause. Naruto bit his lip, knowing he wouldn't be able to relax until his mind settled. After Sai's interruption, his problem preceded no closer to solving itself.

"Are you still at the hospital?" He interviewed nervously.

"Yes…"

"Are you alone?"

"Yes… I'm in my office," Sakura's eyebrows furrowed in suspicion. "Why?"

There was a long pause.

"I have a problem…" he drawled. "I usually do stuff, but I'm having a hard time doing stuff. Cuz it might hurt someone…. Like, normally it'd make that person really happy, but since I'm dying it would make things rougher."

There was a long pause.

"Huh?

Naruto sighed in frustration.

"Is it better to tell the truth while risking hurting someone, or hide the truth and they don't hurt as much?

"I think it's best to not be gullible about your death."

"Sakura-chan!" He whined in annoyance.

"Naruto, sweetie, you aren't going to die. I promise. Please stop with this nonsense."

Naruto groaned, wishing she'd focus on his real issue.

"But what _if _I do _die_?"

"I promise you won't, okay?" Sakura snapped, her patience worn thin from a particularly long day.

"Uh… I'll just avoid it until I figure it out on my own!" Naruto retorted.

With neither member satisfied from the direction of the phone call, there was a mutual decision to end the conversation.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

When ten in the evening arrived, Sakura nearly sang out in joy. She could go home! Finally! Her own warm bed. No problems. No issues.

No Naruto.

Pure uninterrupted sleep. She would be following Sasuke's adamant advice about locking windows and doors. She would turn her phone on silent. She would pull down all the curtains. The only possible device that would pester her would be her wicked medical beeper.

But she had extremely stressed that she didn't want to be called unless there was an emergency.

Working a mission _and _a hospital shift was a horrid way to spend a day, but she was sure her bank account would appreciate the pay. Nearly skipping up the steps, Sakura was more than ready to feel the freedom of her apartment. So lost in her own bliss, she did not notice how her front door was slightly ajar. However, her peaceful, unaware state was destroyed instantly when she walked in.

The place was ruined; she should have followed Sasuke's advice about locking her door far earlier.

Her throw pillows were torn apart, the stuffing spread out across the floor. The same went for her couch. Some of her plates were in shattered pieces in her kitchen, her table turned over. Her kitchen cupboards were wide open, anything inside cleaned out. In the wild, chaotic, trashed mess, she could not even see the floor.

The refrigerator no exception, all of the food contents that had been inside was smeared on the walls and floor.

Although she could not see from the entry way, her bedroom was in an even worse state. Her clothes all over the floor. Nothing private remained hidden.

The only clue towards the hideous mess was a short word written across her wall. The word was written with fury in bright red lipstick. Chunks smeared across the wall.

_**Whore**_

Her mouth dropped open, utterly confused. If she wasn't so shocked, she would have cried.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

Sitting on his bed, Sasuke was pretending to read a scroll. In reality, it was just laying open on his bed while he thought. Beside him, there was a feline dozing. The cat jumped with an unhappy hiss, however, when Sasuke's phone started ringing.

Taking a break from sulking, Sasuke decided to answer his phone.

"Hello?" he responded without interest. His attention snapped instantly at the sound of Sakura's distressed voice.

"Sasuke? Look, I'm just calling so you know what's going on," Sakura explained, her voice pitchy. He sat forward. "My apartment got broken into or something…"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she answered hastily. In reality, she was in too much confusion to really absorb her situation. "I called the authorities and they're checking it out…"

"Was it malicious intent? Or theft?"

"From what I can tell nothing's missing. Oh, and the person left a rude note."

"Rude?" Sasuke scoffed.

"Well, more like a message."

"You aren't staying there tonight," He ordered more than suggested.

"I know.. I'm heading over to my parents right now."

"Someone is targeting you and you are leading them to your family?"

Sakura stopped in her steps. He had a point.

"You'll stay here," He commanded. "I'll come get you."

"No, I'll just walk over. It's fine."

He disagreed.

"I'm a trained ninja," she reminded, sensing his hesitation.

"Just get over here."

While Sakura hurried herself to the compound, Sasuke hung up the phone. The cat batted at his ear, as if asking him a question.

"Go escort her," Sasuke spoke to the cat. "But don't let her know you're there."

Snickering, the cat leapt to fulfill his duty.

While jogging to the Uchiha compound, Sakura thought to herself how she had an eerie feeling she was being watched.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

Before her fist could even knock against the front door, it swung open. The other side revealed Sasuke, his face exposing nothing of his inner self. He scanned her.

Her short hair clung against her cheeks, moist and dewy from a light rain outside. Her clothes clung to her skin, almost warranting his eyes to travel into more forbidden territory. The moisture and cold had reddened her small nose.

Within a second, he observed and stood aside, ushering her in. She gave him a wide, but still somewhat shy smile.

He glanced at her a second time as he closed the door.

The cold air and wetness had made her exposed skin goose up. For a moment, he wished his tongue could run along the puckered skin. Resisting, he held his arm out, offering to take her coat. She was babbling about something, but in his long gazes and thoughts he had failed to listen.

"Or is he still freaking out?" she continued to question. Obviously, she was interrogating him on Naruto's condition.

"He's fine," Sasuke answered, turning away from her. It was best to avoid physical contact with her until he understood his own intentions. As he tucked her coat into a nearby closet, he vaguely noticed she eyed him up as well. Knowing this, he almost struggled to keep to his resolution.

But Uchiha Sasuke was a hard man to break.

"I'll show you your room," He informed her, trying not to notice her eye contact meeting with his lips.

Sakura felt a little disappointment at the new information. She had been hoping she'd be sleeping beside Sasuke for a second night. She reasoned to herself he was keeping her away due to Naruto's presence in the household. That, or he was acting as a gentleman.

She tried her best to pay no attention to how something seemed off about Sasuke. She refused to think he may not want her close for any other reason.

He left, walking down a hallway on the west side of his house. He didn't bother to observe if she was following. He knew she had to be.

Eventually, he leaned against a door to open it. The bedroom was classical, but simple. Towels lay out on her bed. She looked at the bed, then at him.

"I don't have anything," she explained bashfully. "Investigators wouldn't let me get anything from the apartment. Afraid I'd tamper with evidence."

Sasuke nodded, almost expecting as much. He left the room, not bothering to explain where he had gone. During his absence, she unlaced her shoes and placed them neatly by the door. He returned, a pile of clothes in hand. He thrust the pile into her hands, before leaving without a word. He closed the door behind him.

She looked up at the door, nervously chewing her lip. Shaking her head at his cold behavior, she moved to look through the pile. Soft grey sweat pants… a navy blue shirt… and a spare tooth brush. Her nervousness to the aloof behavior forgotten, she admired the tooth brush. Of course, Sasuke would keep necessities in bulk in his house.

Her bare feet padded to the bathroom attached to her bedroom. The bathroom was rather small, containing only necessities as well. As she pulled back the curtain to the shower, she was surprised to see both shampoo and soap located within the shower. Curious, she moved to the medicine cabinet above the sink. Inside, there was toothpaste, floss, and band aids.

For a man who never expected guests, why did Sasuke keep his guest rooms in such nice condition? How on earth did he have time to keep the rooms in good condition?

Shrugging to herself the mystery that was Sasuke, she turned the knobs of the shower. While the old pipes strained to deliver her hot water, she stripped herself. Standing nude, she waited a couple of minutes for the hot water to finally spray through the shower.

As she stepped into the tub, she could only consider one thing. It was the same topic that plagued her mind as she shampooed and washed.

What had she done to make Sasuke so distant?

When she observed they were alone in his doorway, she half expected him to pull her into his arms. Even if he weren't to act so bold, she expected him to at least stand close to her. Close enough that she could wrap her arms around him.

As worried as she was about her apartment, it would have been nice to cuddle up against the delicious Uchiha.

It wasn't as if she had forced the affection of the last two days upon him. He had been the one who went about demanding that they kiss. He had been the one who kept kissing her. Not to mention, he spoke to her with a warmer tone recently.

That is, until this morning. She wasn't sure what had changed, but he returned to his usual self. Aloof. Distant. No one else noticed. No one else knew they had shared kisses when they were alone.

Had he changed his mind over night?

She rushed her shower. In her anxious frenzy, she desired to meet up with the Uchiha and his other house guest. Anything to cease her own dwelling.

Once her shower was complete, she was quick to dry off. Returning to the bedroom, she threw on both the shirt and the pants. The only thing preventing her from practically running to find company was a mirror on the wall. The mirror proudly reflected to her a detail she had missed earlier.

There was a paper fan crest upon her back. She stopped in her tracks. Blood flooded into her cheeks creating a soft glow.

She awaited a moment, admiring the reflection of the crest on her back in the mirror. She felt… branded. In a completely right way.

Once she found herself silly for admiring the mirror for so long, Sakura rushed into the hallway. Only another door remained open, light flooding out into the hall. Walking to the open bedroom, she heard a brief snippet of Sasuke's conversation with Naruto.

"Just have the tea."

"No way! I'm sick of this crap."

"Drink it."

The argument stopped short, both men sighting the figure in the door way. Naruto's mouth fell open, confused by the sight of Sakura in Sasuke's spare clothing.

"That looks so wrong," he muttered. He didn't not notice the onyx glare fixated upon him.

"What?" Sakura asked, feigning innocence.

"You wearing Uchiha clothes. It's weird," Naruto continued, gawking.

"I couldn't bring any of my own from my apartment…" Sakura argued.

"I know but… It looks like you married Sasuke in a doomed wedding or something. It's gross. Wanna wear some of mine?"

"No," Sasuke answered for her, firmly.

Sakura kneeled beside Naruto's bed, pressing her hand against his forehead. As she leaned in, Naruto breathed in her scent. This also displeased him.

"Ew!" His nose wrinkled. "You _smell _like Sasuke too! This is so gross!"

"Naruto…" she sighed in discomfort.

"It's disgusting! The sooner you can get your own shit back the better. You look like a mini Sasuke."

Her hand fell from his forehead, her face showing exhaustion. She glanced over her shoulder, wondering Sasuke's reaction to Naruto's antics. To her surprise, he had left.

The edges of her mouth hinted at frowning, but she did not fully reveal herself. Ignoring the absent male, she turned her attention to the sick one.

"If you stomach is still hurting, you should really have some tea," she advised, picking up the tea cup on the nightstand. She held it out to Naruto, who begrudgingly took the cup.

"I'm only doing this for you," he muttered to himself, rebellious against any authority Sasuke tried to inflict upon him. Sakura smirked at Naruto's childish response. "So, excited to spend the night in a haunted house?"

"Naruto, the door is open."

"So? I told that bastard to his face the house is haunted!"

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, I promise I'm gonna get whoever trashed your apartment!" Naruto vowed, sticking his finger into the air. "Believe it!"

Taking his hand and settling it back into his lap, Sakura gave Naruto a small smirk.

"After your stomach gets better," she chided.

"After it's better," he nodded in agreement. "Shake on it?"

Sakura shook his hand, still resisting laughing at Naruto. He fell back against the headboard, looking out the window. His thoughts on the outside world, he began to speak softly to himself.

"It's easy to hide in here today," he murmured softly. "But tomorrow.. Tomorrow I only have two days left."

"Naruto…"

"I'm going to have to go out… I need to make sure I see everyone. In case it's goodbye," his voice cracked slightly.

"Stop," she ordered, her gaze growing fierce. "Please quit that kind of talk."

For Sakura's sake, Naruto faked brightening up.

"I guess my big hope tonight is that I can fall asleep!"

He meant to imply that only the ghosts would keep him restless. Not his own worries and mortality.

Sakura smiled at him, nodding in agreement.

"Just drink your tea and relax," she answered as she rose to her feet. "I'm sure it'll help you nod off."

"Yeah… say, if you get scared tonight, just come knock on my door! We'll go out into the living room and watch TV or somethin!"

"Oh boy," Sakura retorted with some sarcasm. "However would I make it through the night without you?"

Naruto snickered, waving as she left his room.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

Naruto _hated _nothing more than when Sasuke was right. He thought nothing else could surpass this hate. No one anywhere hated it when someone else was right more than he did towards Sasuke. He was wrong.

Sakura _hated _when Naruto was right over herself far more.

The Uchiha House was definitely haunted.

She lay in the spare bed, strictly on her back. Her limbs lay tight. She stared into the ceiling. She had been staring for over an hour and a half.

At first, she suffered from Sasuke heartbreak induced insomnia. Then, she had heard the wind howl outside. This alerted her, but it didn't make her thing of ghosts.

That is, until she heard footsteps above her head.

To make things creepier, the footsteps were irregular. Not like a human would walk. It was double paced… like a human walking rapidly. Or a creature with four feet.

The walking came from the hallway too sometimes. Even creepier, the walking in the hallway and in the ceiling could occur at the same time.

Making things even worse, she felt several times that something was watching her from the window. Whenever she snapped her head to the window though, nothing was there. Only the branches of a tree shaking in the wind.

"This is so creepy," she whimpered to herself.

This was all Sasuke's fault. He shouldn't be an asshole and keep her up in confusion. He should have put her in the same bed as him. He should have pressed her up against the front door and made out with her.

But he didn't.

She threw the blankets from herself in frustration. Her fear, anxiety.. _everything_ was pissing her off. Her damn apartment was a mess. All of her private items were being looking through by investigators. The man she desired was being aloof.

And his dead ancestors wouldn't shut the hell up at night.

She refused to lie in bed a second longer, pitying herself. She stood, nearly storming.

She was going to Uchiha Sasuke's bedroom. There, he was either going to shower her with attention or give her a good fight.

She refused to be in limbo with him a moment longer.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

**AN:**

**I left what exactly Naruto was brooding about vague for a particular reason. One, the more muddled the reader feels about it, the better it is to understand how muddled he feels about it. I'm sure some readers have gathered what he's mulling over. But he's confused on the details, much like the reader is. (hopefully). I just wanted to clarify so all would understand the method to my madness. ^_- It's left vague for a reason. **


	10. Part 10

**Author's Note:**

**If this chapter had a flavor, it'd be citrus. You've been forewarned of its deliciousness. ^_~**

_**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **_

_The entire house lay restless. The idiot was not the only one who remained tormented by thoughts. At night, the worries of the day like to creep upon people, tormenting them so they have no sleep. The three friends were struggling because there is a balance to solving problems. You must think before you take action, but you cannot dwell for too long. Finding the ideal balance between thought and action haunts us all really. _

Sasuke lay neither quite awake nor asleep. He drowned in his own musings, his body exhausted. He wished for the presence of a certain someone beside him, so that he may rest. If she were lying next to him, there would be nothing wrong really.

Except for the fact that their intertwined bodies may be a horrible fate for her.

Not for him, of course. He knew that sharing himself with her could only lead to a benefit for himself. He could only be healed by her. The true issue lay in what he could do to her.

His nature could corrupt her. Harm her.

His instincts were telling him to distance himself, act as if nothing had happened. He may have been back in Konoha, but that didn't mean he was free of his darkness. If anything, it ran more rampant within him daily. Each morning when he was awoke inside his empty home, his anger resurfaced. Even more deadly was the fact his inner darkness was repressed.

Repressed out of love. Not love for this wretched village. Love for two people.

Nothing, no matter how enraged he grew… he wouldn't separate himself from the sunny blonde and sweet girl ever again.

It was the true reason for his return. The true reason for not destroying the wicked village.

Naruto and Sakura naively believed his subsided anger was due from all those involved with the massacre being dead. They believed he had come to some sort of peace… Or perhaps they were nursing him to peace.

Despite the multiple threats he had made, he could never use his hands to murder Sakura or Naruto. However, he could harm them. Easily, his anger could manifest itself with Sakura. She would be burdened supremely for which she had no blame.

Which was why pursuing a relationship was completely wrong.

He wasn't going to pretend he was domesticated for her.

He didn't want to deal with his emotions. He wanted her on the outskirts. He probably would have kept her there, only he knew it was far too cruel to push her away now. He had resisted her at his front door, but sat sulking in bed that he hadn't kissed her and put her into his bed.

When his bedroom door opened, Sasuke jerked from his restless state. His eyes instantly flicked open from the screech of his door. Confused, he struggled to figure out why Sakura stood there. Certainly, he did not mind seeing her there, but he couldn't gather _why _she stood shyly at his door.

"Sakura?" he grunted, his voice hoarse. Their eyes met for a moment as she struggled to find something to say. She had been so zealous on confronting Sasuke that she had failed to come up with a plain.

"I couldn't sleep," She confessed, her voice creaking softly.

"Your apartment?" He asked, sitting up. Sakura frowned.

"Yeah," she lied. How pathetic. She should be freaking out over her ruined apartment, not Sasuke's dead ancestors or his apparent neglect. She promised herself not to make a habit out of lying to Sasuke, but telling him she was starting to believe Naruto's ghost stories would have been hideous. At the moment, she was also far too flustered to even ask him what was going on. Thankfully, he responded further for her.

"Mmm.." he mumbled softly. To her surprise, he lay back down and lifted the blankets away beside him.

"Come sleep with me," he hushed. Despite his entire day of brooding, he had come to no conclusions. He had vague ideas on what he should do, but no action was decided upon. This did not change, however, his desire to keep her near. "Lock the door."

He could also reason that his presence would most likely sooth her to sleep.

Her face flushed immediately, as she obeyed and eagerly padded her feet across the floor. Her mouth opened to speak, but she was unsure of what to say. Deciding not to over speak on the issue, she settled herself beside him, facing him.

The palm of his hand rested against her lower back, pushing her closer. Soon, she was nestled against his skin, tucked in perfectly. He exhaled softly into her ear, content with their new position. The tempest within him gone. Sakura would have been sighing dreamily as well, but Sasuke's exposed chest was right up against her cheek. Her mind travelled to dirty, wicked thoughts involving the Uchiha and how he would respond if she tried to request for pleasure.

She wondered if he'd cry out her name in his climax.

Blushing in mortification, Sakura firmly scolded herself for such corrupt thoughts. Especially when he was acting so chastely.

"Don't worry about your place," he murmured softly into her ear, his palm still at her backside. There, he began to rub at her tenderly. Her breath hitched. She knew he was trying to be affectionate, but she kept finding him arousing.

"Thanks, Sasuke-kun," she whispered quietly.

In his irritated state, the sound of her affectionate name contented him. While he did not smile entirely, the corners of his lips tugged upwards. He did not notice how his foul mood from debating with himself had all but completely vanished.

Meanwhile, Sakura tried to resist kissing his neck. Or slipping her hands below his waistband….

"I didn't wake you, did I?" She murmured softly against him. Her breath tickled his skin.

"Sleep wasn't good anyway," he responded, not caring towards her intrusion. His sentence was briefly interrupted by a particularly loud snore from Naruto down the hall. Sakura giggled at the burst of noise.

"At least he's sleeping easy," she smiled softly. "He was so worrisome before… I wonder how he finally relaxed."

"I drugged him," Sasuke answered bluntly with a shrug. Sakura's eyes instantly went wide with shock. Struggling to squirm out of Sasuke's embrace, she stared at him in complete confusion.

"Sasuke!" she reprimanded. He was displeased she sat on the other side of the bed.

"What? I was doing him a favor." His fingers edged closer to pull her back.

"No!" Sakura shook her head, swatting his hand away.. "No! No! You don't just drug people because they are going through a problem! You help them face the problem!"

"I can't fix his stupidity."

"So you just can't knock him out!" she scolded. "He had a stomach illness today! You can't just throw in some random medication with it!"

"He got a weird look in his eye. He needed some sleep."

Sakura frowned, giving Sasuke an analyzing look.

"Where did you get sleeping pills anyway?" she questioned, still thoroughly unhappy with his decision.

"Seems when I first returned to the village my pain pills always made me tired…." Sasuke answered with a pointed look. Sakura's judgmental face fell. She had forgotten that there was a period in her life where she was desperate to make Sasuke calm down and relax. It was completely unprofessional, but she had tricked Sasuke into calming down some. Giving in, her shoulders slumped in submission.

"I only did it with you…" she murmured guiltily. Until then, she believed that Sasuke had never discovered her secret to help his transition home. Knowing she wasn't going to win this argument, Sakura dropped the issue. Sasuke remained still, looking forward.

"I figured," he answered. When it came to him, Sakura tended to lose her level headed nature and act desperate.

Being someone's priority to the point of desperation was… nice.

She was probably the only person alive who acted as if he was a personal responsibility. Remembering his brooding issue from before, his face fell slightly. He leaned back, falling onto his back side.

Sakura remained sitting up, lost in her own thoughts. Having a brief moment of clarity, she looked down at Sasuke. He looked supremely bothered.

"Would you sleep better if I left?" she asked, a hint of shyness creeping into her voice.

He looked over at her. Yes, she was annoying him. She was annoying the hell out of him. She _always _annoyed the hell out of him. But for a new mysterious reason, he didn't want her to know she was always irritating.

He sure as hell didn't want her to leave his side.

"No," he answered. "Stay."

She leaned back, giving him a small smile. Her muscles remained coiled, not quite able to relax.

He began to stew in his own dilemma. Why was she so forgiving?

She obviously held no grudge against him. It was unwise, but she had forgiven him. Even when he had never asked for forgiveness. As far as his verbal communication went, she had no idea that his wrong doings towards her bothered him.

She was annoying because… she was always present. Always rubbing at him in a sense. She persisted into his thoughts constantly.

Naruto snored again, echoing in the room.

"I wish we could sleep like that," Sakura whispered longingly.

"_No shit," _Sasuke thought to himself. He remained quiet beside her. He watched her for a moment, as she finally lay back down completely.

Settled against his bed sheets, her pink hair fanning out against a pillow, she looked like she belonged. He didn't understand how something so bright looked so correct in such a melancholy place. He never wished she would remove herself from the spot. She needed to stay still.

Not oblivious to the strong gaze, Sakura looked up at Sasuke shyly. She was still unsure of the status of their relationship, but she was bothered that he hadn't kissed her in two days. Just as mortifying, he had only kissed for a single night.

"Sasuke?" she whispered, her voice timid. He watched as pink flushed lightly across her cheeks. "Kiss Goodnight?"

Nothing sounded more refreshing.

He nodded, leaning forward to cup her cheek. He pressed a warm, slow kiss firmly against her lips before withdrawing. Sakura's lips caught against his momentarily, reluctant to let him pull away. Knowing that he wouldn't be affectionate without meaning it, Sakura crept into his arms. She rested against his chest again, this time more content. His mouth dipped, resting against the crown of her head.

He never knew his bed was empty before. He never felt the need or the desire to share it with another. He hated touching, yet whenever she was near he was starting to make a habit of pulling her close. When she was close and acting affectionate, he found himself enjoying the touches.

He breathed in, his nose nestled atop of her hair. His own scent wafted up to him. He missed her usual smell, but at the same time was a little turned on that she smelled like him. Like she belonged to him.

Then, he knew.

"You need to stay," He ordered her, warm breath moving into her hair. His commanding, authoritative voice made her shiver with delight.

"Stay? In your bed?"

"With me."

Her face flushed wildly from the implications of the sentence. Her heart raced, making her blood pump madly. A tingling sensation over swept her.

"If you say things like that," she babbled hotly with fondness. "I might start to assume things."

"Good," he whispered softly into her hair. She shrugged from his grasp. Before she could move to kiss him, he spoke honestly. "I never treat you right…"

He trailed off, hoping she understood the rest of his sentence. His edge would never be completely dulled. He was going to try, however. This was something she had grown to accept long ago. To indicate her understanding, she nuzzled him gently.

"I know," she whispered seriously. "Even when things were the absolute worst.. I.."

Tilting her head upward, she made eye contact with two alluring, dark orbs.

"I've always…"

Interrupting her, he spoke.

"I know," he rasped. His fingers settled beneath her chin. His strong gaze spoke out to her. Immediately, she felt and knew his message.

He loved her too.

Forcefully, he pressed a strong kiss upon her. The passionate kiss tore at her mouth in all the right ways. His lips crushed against hers, his sliding against hers in a frenzy. He didn't know what had overcome him.

She whimpered from the kiss, but not in the least bit in resistance. She had never been kissed upon so roughly, so overpoweringly. Lost in the extremeness of it all, she began to lose to breath, panting slightly. He nibbled at her lower lip when she pulled away for air. His teeth scraping against her elicited a soft moan.

She gasped for air rapidly, quick to reunite with him for more. Why in the hell hadn't he done this sooner? Her needs had gone unmet for so long… but he was going to take care of that now. She starved for him.

She climbed atop of him, straddling his lap. She moved closer, trying to flatten space between them. Her chest collided against his, as his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. Her needy fingers slipped into his hair, holding him close as he continued to devour her mouth.

When he nibbled on her lower lip again, she groaned. Her thighs clenched against him, squeezing her closer. He panted, the friction from her closeness causing heat to pool in his loins. Instinctively, his hips rubbed against her, causing her to flush over as well.

Her thighs squeezed again, crushing him just right.

His finger twitched against her waist. His chaste nature nowhere to be found. Moving, his fingers eased their way slowly up her shirt. His fingers gazed her waist, her skin warm and soft. He slowed a moment, gently rubbing at the area.

_Touch me, Touch me, Touch me! _A mantra echoed in Sakura's mind. His hot kisses were dizzying her with lust.

"Ohh… pleeease?" she whined, gasping. His eyes flickered, unsure of how things had gotten so boiling so rapidly.

Obviously, the two had chemistry. And they needed each other bad.

He gulped, growing more excited.

His fingers brushed up against her, easing towards the underside of her breasts. She moaned softly in approval, her head arching back. He cupped both of her breasts. She was full, more than a handful. Teasing her, he brushed his thumbs across her nipples. As she moaned again, he observed how soft and supple she was.

His thumbs moved in lazy circles, effectively driving her crazy. He watched her, somewhat sadistically as she whimpered with unease. Their foreheads pressed together, eye contact making the touches even more powerful. She kissed against his lips, whimpering how she wanted more.

"Take off your shirt," he ordered. He desperately wanted her bare, exposed. Obeying, she flung the wretched cloth off and across the room. He admired her, before deciding to end his slow torture. Feeling his heavy stare upon her, she gasped in satisfaction as his thumbs moved faster.

His thumbs continued around her nipples, causing her to lean back and gasp. Then sensation of it was powerful, almost too overwhelming. She panted aloud for air, unable to even moan out.

Her hips started rubbing again, searching for some kind of satisfaction. This only made the Uchiha smirk, his movements slowed to make her beg. He was slowly learning how much he liked to tease.

Soon after, she started to feed his ego with begging.

"More? More, Sasuke-kun?" she whimpered. He kissed down her neckline. Her hips bucked stronger, growing more and more needy with each kiss. She hissed with approval when he reached her collarbone, nibbling.

He was maddening, really.

Not about to let her grow restless, Sasuke smirked before lowering his mouth upon her left nipple. His hot tongue slid across the pink sweet spot, making her cry out. He was touching at her all the right ways, making her more urgent and lustful for attention. Her hip movements rubbed friction against the tip of his member, making him groan against her. She kept pressing harder.

Before he would lose his cool, he switched to the other side of her. Her hips bucked in a particularly hard, frenzied matter. Losing all control, he grabbed her ass and slammed her onto her back.

He was quick to get atop of her, looking at her intently.

Sakura's cheeks were flushed, hot from their foreplay. Green eyes were wide, shameless for him. She appeared to be taking him in as well. Her lips swollen red from several rough kisses. He had to groan when he continued to eye her up and down. Her nipples, pink and puckered, were moist from his saliva. She whimpered for more touching, sweating.

"Damn," he grunted. He probably would have stared her up and down a little longer, if she wouldn't have pulled at his hair for more kisses.

Many lonely nights he had wondered what it would be like to be with her. Never did he imagine that she'd pull on his hair. It was a raunchy surprise.

He growled in approval, drowning her in kisses again.

His fingers less shy this time, his slipped his hand into her pants. He rubbed at her clit, making her cry out again.

"You're so wet already," he whispered, feeling her. His fingers lowered, brushing against her entrance. Fondling her lightly, he made her gasp. How could nimble touches feel so agonizingly good?

Curious, her fingers slid down his chest at a slow, agonizing pace. His breath, uneven as he anticipated her actions. He remained still, never daring to interrupt her ministrations. Her slender fingers moved across his abs to the waistband of his pants. The sensation tickled and electrified him in unison. Dipping her hand below, she reached for his thick, hard member. He throbbed with arousal, heavy and hot. She could feel his pulsation, his needy urge for her touch.

Her hand clasped the length of him. She flicked her thumb across the tip, over and over again. He gasped from the hot, but unsatisfying sensation. Needing that none of her hand movements be restricted, he quickly kicked off both his pants and boxers.

The sight of Uchiha Sasuke completely naked took her breath away. He was gorgeous… the male embodiment of perfection. He was all muscle, angles, and flawlessness.

He moved his hips, reminding her he was needy for her touch. He was desperate to be toyed with. Not allowing him to go unsatisfied, Sakura started to stroke him in experimentation. Watching him hiss in approval, she found she rather liked him all hot and bothered. His hips pressed forward, urging her on.

After trying different pressures, she found one that seemed to really make him pant. She stroked him with strong, swift strokes. As his eyes lowered with lust, he began to breathe heavily.

"Sasuke-kun," she purred sexily. Admiring his sculpted figure, she spoke three hot words that would set him ablaze. "No more playing."

Tonight, they would not be fooling around. She wanted to make love entirely. Knowing that he was going to live his most wicked of fantasies, he let out a slow, rough growl.

His hands immediately went to work, seeing that she was undressed completely. He threw the pants she had borrowed from him across the room, unable to take his eyes off of her. He seriously had a staring problem, most likely induced by her slender, alluring form.

She pulled him by his hair again, demanding attention from his mouth. He leaned against her, kissing her sensually and slow. She whined against his mouth, needy for a rougher and hotter pace of action. He kept deliberate, taking his time thoroughly and completely seducing her.

He loomed above her, his arms positioned on either side of her face. Positioning himself, his hard length tapped against her moist folds. Liking the direction things were going, Sakura encouraged him with a hiss of yes.

He tapped against her again, teasing her. Toying with her patience. Making her beyond insane for him.

As if years of wanting him wasn't torture enough.

He looked up at Sakura through the dark overhang of his bangs. Her eyes half closed, needy, restless...

With a buck of his hips, he sunk into her slick heat. He smirked against her, his mouth muffling her cry with a kiss.

A shiver traveled down him, roughly. The sensation so overwhelming he almost lost himself on the spot. She was incredibly tight against him, squeezing him. He immediately began to groan.

She swallowed, moaning as he slowly withdrew himself only to slam against her again. He moved slowly at first, before thrusting in deeper. He buried himself inside her to the hilt. He stretched her, trying to resist boldly taking her in a frenzied, wild manner. His resistance was nearly shot. She whimpered again.

Damn, she made the most delicious of noises.

He was so good at making her squirm. Good but somewhat tender. She loved the roughness of it all. His pace remained slow, but obsessive. Uneven… enough to make her crazy.

With each thrust, he grunted. He rocked her back and forth, in and out. Overwhelmed, she gave needy cries, wrapping her legs around his hips. He sank deeper still, her core positioned now even closer against him. He thrust sharply, smirking as she screamed.

Her hips bucked uncontrollably, needy for a faster, less controlled pace. Effectively spurring him on, Sasuke returned each bucking with a thrust of equal fervor. He quickened his pace, pushing her harder against the bed.

In his ecstasy, he panted wildly, losing control of himself. His most primal of instincts burst from him, slamming her repeatedly. Her hips rocked, sensitive to each sensation of pleasure he induced. Her walls squeezed around him, exploiting his raw nature. As he endlessly kept hitting against her, wetness collected between them.

Sakura clung to his biceps, her fingernails leaving half moon shapes as she dung in with pleasure. Beneath him, she moaned consistently. His dipped his face into her neck, panting against her ear.

His arms groped her ass, pulling her hips up. Making everything hotter… more intense.

Her walls kept clenching, pumping him.

"More!" she gasped, so close. On the very edge of hitting bliss… she clenched tighter, alerting him so.

Her mouth fell open, hot gasps escaping her. Moving from her neck, he pressed a rough, strong kiss against her mouth. Passionately, bruising each other's lips with ferocity. Rasping, he pulled away looking into her.

"Sakura…" he grunted, a low guttural sound. Hearing him speak her name… his hot thrusting penetration… her tight, sweaty need… she was set over the edge. A throaty cry escaped her lips. Screaming, she came long and violently.

He kept ramming in, his cock forcing into her.

She shrieked out in orgasm. The sounds of her climaxing music to his ears… driving him to keep pounding percussively. He was nearly at his peak, almost entirely lost by the sheer sounds she was making.

The look on her face was almost enough too. Her cheeks flushed with passion, a slight sheen of moisture across her body.. Her cute mouth pouting from all he was doing to her. The sight was completely delectable.

"Sasuke-_kun_!" She cried, almost emphasizing the affectionate suffix. It was enough for him to lose it completely. The position was too hot, too intimate.. her cries to were too close to him, vibrating against his skin. The sensations of it all was overwhelming.

Spasms shot through him, shattering him with gratification.

He hit against her roughly, riding out his own hard release. He grunted, his breath becoming rigid pants. As his own hot, heavy peak fell into bliss, he let out a low growl of a groan. Sakura whimpered in response to the erotic sound.

Both their hips slowed, exhausted.

Her eyes fluttered open, looking upwards. He smiled at her, admiring how ironically innocent she looked. Especially considering what he had just done to her…what she had done to him.

He set his lips against her, kissing her thoroughly and breathlessly. Then, he removed himself and collapsed beside her.

It felt natural to lie beside her, naked. She looked perfect… all sweaty against him. Panting softly from exhaustion.. she looked like she belonged there.

"Come here," he murmured softly, pulling her into his arms. Instinctively, she cuddled against him. Soon, the skin of their bodies was entirely flush against each other. Except this time, they exchanged gentle affection instead of heated passion.

"If you do that every night," she whispered as she nuzzled her nose against his neck. "I promise to never leave."

The corners of his lips turned upwards, a ghost of a smile.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

**Author's Note:**

**Oh my, we finally got there!**

**I really struggled with the speaking scene between Sasuke and Sakura. I know there'll be people who expected something more… or thought it was too much… but.. I just liked the way it felt. That's probably why this took so long to update. I really wanted the moment to be tender, but I also didn't want Sasuke to stop acting like himself in regards to his personality in the story. It was really an uphill battle. **

**Anyway, I'd love you hear a review saying what YOU thought. **


	11. Part 11

_While the idiot lay asleep, a shy creature hunted for him. Her timid nature was temporarily skewed, believing that her loved one only had two days left to live. She was not lacking intelligence, but had been misled. Rumors had spread that deadly, slow acting venom was the source of his predicted demise. Had she known the true source of the death prediction was a card, surely the shy girl would not have been terrified. _

Uzumaki Naruto had returned to Konoha, but his whereabouts were unknown. Had they been known, Hinata surely wouldn't have been in such a fitful state that evening. Her own fear for him clouded her judgment, making logic difficult. The young heiress wished to only remain close to him in what may be his final hours.

Since she had heard news of his successful return from his mission, she had been desperately hunting him down. However, he was proving unusually difficult to find.

The tales she heard were bizarre. Tales consisted of Naruto being in critical care in the hospital, under an assumed name for privacy. This, however, she concluded to be false.

There was yet another story she had heard that Naruto had been cured entirely by Sakura. He had been sent home, healthy and free. This was the story Hinata wanted to believe, but there was no evidence. She had rushed to Naruto's filthy, neglected apartment in the evening only to find it bare of the young man.

The ramen stand also hadn't seen him.

No one had. It was as if Naruto had vanished or went into hiding. In reality, she was correct. Naruto _was_ hiding, unwilling to face his mortality and settle the final steps of his will.

Growing desperate in the night, she raced to Sakura's apartment. She always felt an inner sense of jealousy towards the pink haired girl. Sakura was lucky having been placed on Naruto's team and also because she was an obvious recipient of his affection. Few people were not aware that Naruto regarded Sakura highly, most even believing that he loved her. The culmination of Sakura's natural talents and her placement in Naruto's life obviously left her as a person Hinata regarded with envy, but never with malice. Hinata's feelings of respect and kindness towards Sakura covered Hinata's jealousy to the naked eye.

Regardless of inner jealousy, Hinata knew Sakura would know of Naruto's whereabouts.

When she climbed the stairs of Sakura's apartment, she was shocked to find a full on investigating going on.

No one knew what had happened, but the red message on the wall certainly hinted towards a greater jealous or animosity that Hinata felt towards Sakura.

No one investigating knew where Sakura had gone for the night, but most speculated that she was in the Uchiha residence or with Ino.

Feeling foolish, Hinata realized she should have gone to the Uchiha compound first. Hadn't Kiba said that Naruto was staying with Sasuke for the week?

Making her way down the stairs of the apartment, Hinata rushed to the forbidden territory in hope.

Outside, a voice cried out, stopping Hinata in her tracks.

"Hey!" a woman called. "You Sakura?"

Hyuga Hinata had never been mistaken for Haruno Sakura in her entire life. Instantly, Hinata knew someone from outside of the village was calling to her. She turned around, her eyes meeting with a sorry sight.

There stood a nervous, weepy woman with shaking hands. She looked lost, almost out of place. Make up that had been caked on her face was smeared, most likely from crying. The nervous woman approached Hinata, wringing her wrists.

"I'm sorry," the woman bemoaned. In a moment, Hinata observed what an unusual shade of red lipstick the woman wore.

"I'm sorry," Hinata bowed her head slightly. "I'm not Sakura."

The woman's face fell. Terror seemed to glimmer into her eyes.

"You're the one who did that to her apartment, aren't you?" Hinata questioned softly, but firmly.

The woman stood still. Her legs twitched as if ready to bolt.

"I had no idea," the woman babbled. "They told me my fiancée was traveling with her. They said nothing about her being a nin. I thought she just lived in this village. I had no idea she was a nin."

Hinata readied her stance, preparing should the woman run off into the darkness.

"I just wanted my ring back…" The woman explained her hands up submissively. "I was just looking for the ring…"

Obviously, this was a complete understatement. The woman didn't just want her ring back, she wanted revenge. Poor Sakura was just caught in the crossfire.

"I'm going to escort you to the authorities," Hinata informed, her tone even.

As she expected, the woman attempted to flee. However, the desperate, confused woman did not stand a chance against Hinata and was apprehended almost immediately.

Procedures following seize and arrest kept Hinata busy and away from the compound for the rest of the night.

_**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **_

_Morning came, the shy girl upset that her attempts to find the idiot had been foiled by fate and a disgruntled woman. As she mourned the loss of time, she fell into a desperately needed sleep. She tried to resist her biological need, but her body collapsed against her will upon her bed. While she slept, others began to awaken. The idiot, for one. _

Sunlight streamed into Sasuke's bedroom, warming his bed and glaring into his eyes. He usually left the blinds up so that his bed would be warmed by the early morning sun. Today, however, he did not need extra warmth. He had plenty nestled into his arms.

Coming into consciousness, he leaned his face forward. Burying himself into Sakura's hair, he considered murmuring a good morning to her. He decided not to, lest he wake her. He held her for a moment, contently observing how she smiled in her sleep.

Surely, some part of her knew he was holding her.

The tender, sweet moment was rudely interrupted with a brisk and brutal knock.

Sasuke glared, not amused as Sakura rustled in his arms. Whimpering, she brought herself closer. No matter how much Naruto banged on the door, she wasn't ready to get up yet.

The knob turned, but did not open. Sakura had successfully locked the door before she crawled into Sasuke's bed last night. Thankfully, or Naruto would have caught quite an eyeful of the lovers.

"Sasuke! Sasuke! Why's the door locked?" Naruto whined through the door.

"So you can't come in," Sasuke grumbled, unsure if Naruto could hear him. Ever vigilant on his quest to annoy Sasuke, Naruto continued to call to him through the door.

"Saaaasuke! I can't find Sakura-chan! Did she leave? I wanted breakfast with her!" Naruto shouted.

Sakura's eyes flung open. Oh hell. Naruto was avidly searching for her… as she lay in bed with Sasuke. Naked. Panic set in immediately.

"She went for a jog," Sasuke lied, guiltiness evident in his tone.

"Tell him I'll make him breakfast in a half an hour," Sakura whispered quietly into Sasuke's ear. He nodded, calling out to Naruto.

"She says she'll make breakfast in thirty minutes," he answered.

"Says?"

"Said! This morning. Before she left."

The ill-fated blonde whined, grumbling his way back down the hall to mope in bed. At least he didn't have to cook for himself today.

Usually, Sasuke was a cool, even liar. However, he was out of his element this morning. Never in his life did have to hide a lover.

Hell, he'd never had a lover.

Brushing his lips against the shell of Sakura's ear, he whispered to her.

"I'll tell him when you aren't in my bed," Sasuke murmured. He eyed her momentarily, thoughts of carnal activities starting to leak into his mind. Sensing his distracted gaze, Sakura tucked the blankets around herself protectively. She'd normally let him feast his gaze on her all he wanted, but this morning was hardly an appropriate time. Not to mention, she wasn't sure she could resist him if he got the idea to try anything.

"How about we tell him together when this silly death week is over? He's got enough on his mind," she reasoned.

"He doesn't respond well to change under pressure either," Sasuke agreed, echoing Sai's words of advice from the day before. Sakura smiled, thankful Sasuke agreed. Leaning forward, she kissed his forehead. The forehead kiss fell into something of light, warm kisses on the lips. Before she was far too tempted to stay, she decided it was best to collect herself.

Crawling out of bed, she struggled to gather the clothes she had worn into the room last night. All the while, she was aware of the eyes that watched her. Before she left, she pressed her ear to the door, making sure no one roamed about in the hallway. Confirming that Naruto was situated in another room, she smiled at Sasuke.

"What do you want for breakfast?" she asked, a coy, playful tone escaping her throat. Entertained that she was flirting in such a bizarre manner, Sasuke smirked.

"Whatever." He answered falling back into bed.

She giggled as she snuck out of his room.

_**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **_

As soon as Sakura's hand fell on the door knob to the room she was supposed to have slept in, Naruto burst into the hallway.

"Where were you?" he whined, chasing at her heels. "I've been missing you all morning!

"Sorry, Naruto," She answered a smile creeping onto her face. "Let me get a quick shower in and I'll make you breakfast."

He stared at her.

"What would you like?" she asked, walking into the bedroom. Her head looked over her shoulder, watching for his response.

Naruto may have been an idiot. However, there are even details that an idiot can't miss.

Sakura looked different to him, but he couldn't place how. Perhaps it was her soft smile. Or her suddenly great mood, despite the fact it was morning and he was harassing her. Something…was definitely off.

"My stomach still hurts," he complained to her, deciding that he was seeing things. There was no way that Sakura was extremely more happy than usual. She was in a decent mood from a jog; that had to be it. Deciding he was merely overanalyzing her, he continued to address his medical concerns. "My gut is even worse than before."

"Uh-huh," she responded, not really listening. She looked into a closet off of the bedroom, finding towels for her shower.

She turned to face Naruto, her eyes catching a horrifying detail.

Her clothes from yesterday had been washed, dried, and neatly folded onto the top of the bed. Someone had done laundry for her in the night.

And that someone certainly wasn't Sasuke. Her eyes had been on him all night.

"Did…you do my laundry?" she questioned Naruto, her voice weak.

"No," he answered his eyebrows furrowing. "Sasuke probably did."

"I know as a fact he didn't."

The pair stared at the neat pile of clothes on the bed. Naruto's jaw dropped.

"The ghosts did your laundry," he hushed softly. Sakura's face instantly lit up red. Her cheeks burning, she shook her head.

"Well, how else did it get washed?" Naruto piped up.

"Ghosts don't do laundry," Sakura whispered, more to assure herself than Naruto.

"The Uchihas were mad you wore the crest!" Naruto concluded, pointing at Sakura. "So they did your laundry so you'd stop it!"

Sakura shook her hot face, unwilling to accept the eerie conclusion Naruto had come to.

"Sasuke probably did it," she babbled, gathering up the clothes into her arms. "Maybe when I went jogging."

Naruto nodded, still unsure.

"You aren't going to _wear _them, are you?" he questioned, horrified. "You seriously are going to put on ghost clothes?"

Sakura shook her head, rushing into the bathroom and slamming the door in Naruto's face.

"I'll be out soon to make you breakfast!" she cried, her fingers shaking.

If Sasuke hadn't done her laundry…. And Naruto hadn't done her laundry….. Who had?

_**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **_

Unnerved by her clothes, Sakura tried not to be jumpy as she walked into the kitchen. She couldn't wrap her head around the idea. She had been beside Sasuke all night. She had heard Naruto snoring in his sleep all night.

And no one else was in the house.

Except the ghosts.

Furiously shaking her head at the nonsense, Sakura pulled up the blinds to the kitchen. Sun light flooded into the room, warming the kitchen. The red hues of the room seemed to glow, creating a welcoming environment. Temporarily distracted, Sakura smiled and started to hum to herself softly. Opening the window for fresh air, she breathed in leisurely. It was then that she noticed the pile of blonde nin on the kitchen floor.

He lay on the floor in a heap. Presumably, he was waiting for her to cook his breakfast and had given up almost entirely on looking dignified. He opened one eye at her, miserably. Noticing she was wearing her own clothing, he barked up concern immediately.

"You actually put the ghost clothes on?"

She rolled her eyes at him, trying to hide how she was secretly unnerved by her mysteriously clean clothing. How perfectly it had been positioned on her bed… how it smelled fresh like soap. Her bra and panties at the bottom of the pile in case someone other than her was to spot the clean clothes.

It. Was. All. Too. Creepy.

"There are no ghosts here," she spoke softly. This was more to reassure herself than Naruto. He violently disagreed.

"I heard moaning last night."

She stopped moving. Her body was stone right before the refrigerator. Naruto continued his tale of the nightly disturbances.

"It woke me up actually…. It was strange. Like something I never heard before."

Sakura ceased breathing.

"Then I looked up to see what was going on," his voice was a hush of a whisper. "And I saw a woman."

She inhaled sharply.

"She had dark hair…really pretty."

"You were dreaming," Sakura concluded.

"No way! I was totally awake!" he argued, pointing his finger into the air to emphasize.

She opened the refrigerator, pulling out various vegetables and eggs.

"Your medicine probably made you hallucinate."

"Fine fine.. you can explain what I saw. But how about what I heard?" he questioned.

Her throat went dry, her face growing red. She was mortified. Beyond embarrassed. Naruto had no idea that sounds of sex had awakened him, but the mere fact it happened horrified her deeply. How could she let such a thing occur?

"You want omelets?" she squeaked in desperation to change the subject.

"I guess…" Naruto bemoaned slowly. "But eating sounds like the worst idea ever."

Eyeing the pathetic pile on the floor, she felt some pity sink in.

"Why are you on the floor?" she finally asked, already knowing his answer.

"Because my stomach is killing me! I'm going to die from this poisoning Sakura-chan. I just know it!"

"The poison is out of your system," she responded, setting the food onto the countertop. Turning around, she approached Naruto and bent to feel his forehead. He leaned his face upward, allowing her to feel.

"You've got a fever," she murmured softly. "Probably a reaction to your medication."

"You gave me medicine that made me hallucinate _and_ feel this crappy?"

Well, no. She hadn't given him any medicine that would harm him. The combination of what she had given him, along with Sasuke's pain pills most likely induced this drug fever. His fever would settle with time, especially if he avoided all other medicines. She patted Naruto's head, and then moved to pour him a glass of water.

"Drink some fluids and you'll get better. You just have to flush out your system," she answered him, handing up the glass. He rolled over onto his stomach, positioning himself so he could drink it.

"I've only got two days to live," he grumbled to himself. "What a lame way to go."

"Enough," Sakura snapped, sending him a glare.

He pouted with displeasure that he was currently out of her good graces. Additionally, he felt guilty that he was ruining her blissful mood. He pressed his face into his arms in hopes he could nap on the floor while she made breakfast. A few minutes passed, Sakura's good mood returning. She hummed to herself softly, which soothed him. He dozed, becoming unaware of the room around him.

While he fell into sleep, a small and fit feline jumped into the kitchen window. Landing gracefully upon the countertop, the cat looked around the room. His intention was to introduce himself to Sakura since she had spent the night in Sasuke's bedroom. While he and his friends found torturing Naruto amusing, they feared punishment if they treated Sakura in a similar manner.

Sakura looked up, her eyes widening at the sight. The cat sat on his haunches, watching her. There was an awkward eye contact between the feline and the female.

The cat was well fed, suggesting it was not a stray to Sakura. In fact, the cat had a sleek, athletic look to him. He tilted his head curiously at her. Never, did it occur to her that this was a ninja cat.

She held her hand out in front of his nose. Kiba had told her once that allowing an animal to smell you was a way to greet a new animal. The cat sniffed her hand while wondering why she was sticking it in his face.

Accepting her, despite her strange behavior, the cat relaxed. Sakura's hand moved to scratch behind his ears. He instantly tensed back up.

He considered clawing her as most ninja cats would. They were not pets, and they did not enjoy being treated as such. He resisted retaliation, knowing he would most likely be punished for striking her.

So he let Sakura pet him, remaining still in annoyance.

Sakura stepped away, picking up a dish to feed the cat. Maybe he was a stray that Sasuke fed consistently?

Looking for something to set on a dish for the animal, Sakura began to talk to him. She always talked to animals, believing that most understood some of her chatter. She certainly wasn't aware that the cat she was talking to understood _all _of it….and that he could reply.

Naruto snored peacefully on the floor, unaware of the feline's presence.

"You're very pretty. Are you hungry?"

"Yes, I am very pretty." The cat confirmed to Sakura. "I do not require food, however. I fed myself this morning."

Sakura's mouth fell open. The cat bowed to her, then pounced outside the window. He thought he had spotted a mouse.

Her fingers grew weak, dropping the plate. The dish shattering on the floor made Naruto sit upright in shock.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his eyes darting around the room. Sakura's mouth opened and closed for a moment as she tried to gather her thoughts.

"Sasuke has cats," she managed to eek out.

"Is that slang for a disease or something?"

"No, he has ninja cats! They are around! All the time!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Nuh uh. I've never seen a damn cat around here."

As soon as he spoke, Naruto realized he was mistaken. The black cat… the night of the party.

"Well, I just saw one. And we _talked_," Sakura argued.

Naruto's eyes widened.

"How many are there you think? Where did they come from?"

"I don't know! I think there's more than one…. Maybe it's like an Uchiha family thing."

"This is the weirdest fucking place on earth," Naruto grumbled, twitching slightly. "Cats talking, ghost women in the night, moaning.. walking around spirits.. creaking floors.. What a mess."

Having heard the shatter of the plate, Sasuke decided to check up on Sakura. He entered the kitchen, his eyebrows furrowing together. Sakura stared out the window… shattered pieces of a dish on the floor in front of her… and Naruto was twitching on the floor babbling about this ghost nonsense. He stood in the entry way, trying to understand what the hell was going on. Instead of asking, he merely raised a brow. Sensing the heavy gaze from behind, Sakura turned.

"Nothing…just met a cat," Sakura babbled, looking away with a flushing face. Sasuke stepped forward into the room, mumbling softly how he'd clean up the mess while Sakura cooked.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. He was seriously, seriously confused.

Why wasn't Sasuke pissy that they were breaking things?

Why was everyone acting all calm this morning? Naruto began to fidget on the floor.

And why hadn't Sasuke bothered to tell him there were ninja cats around?

Casting a slanted glance to the twitching nin, Sasuke gave him a pointed look. Naruto took this as an invitation to speak his mind. He sat up dramatically, pointing his finger at Sasuke.

"What the _hell _is wrong with you! You're being all calm and shit! I can't stand it! I feel like I'm waiting for you to set us all on fire!"

Sasuke gave him a blank stare.

"Then you have these damn ninja cats running around all the time! And you don't bother to bring it up! What is _wrong _with you! Fuckin' cats have been creepin' on me all week! They probably are servants to your dead family! Carrying out their dead Uchiha wishes!"

It never occurred to Naruto that the cats were the ones making noise at night.

Then, his finger pointed to Sakura.

"And what's _your _deal? You're being all nice and singing? You hate mornings! You two need to knock it off!"

Some part of Sakura was amused that Naruto was flustered whenever she and Sasuke didn't abuse him.

"I think you need to go lie down," Sasuke answered Naruto, teeth clenched.

"No! You're supposed to call me an idiot! Stop this calm and caring shit! You're creeping me out!"

Life experience had prepared Sakura and Sasuke for Naruto throwing a temper tantrum on the kitchen floor. Sakura was trying her best to not laugh at the scenario, especially since Naruto was so worked up about his possible demise. Sasuke crossed his arms, inhaling slowly. He resisted beating the moron, especially for the insult to his family.

"I think you need to rest," Sasuke repeated himself again. This time, more agitation crept into his voice.

"There's no resting to be had!" Naruto cried in exasperation. "Every time I sleep your family crawls out of the wood work and does laundry!"

Once again, Naruto failed to conclude when the ninja cats were involved.

Both Sasuke and Sakura stared, heads tilting. Naruto looked up, dark circles suddenly evident under his eyes. His yelling fit had passed, giving him a short sensation of calm.

"Eh, you explain it to him, Sakura-chan," Naruto muttered, suddenly bashful for his yelling. He decided to escape before Sasuke's good temperament was thoroughly exhausted. "I think I'll go lie down on the couch."

"That would be best," Sasuke answered, watching Naruto slink out the door. Once he had left, Sasuke suddenly noticed Sakura wearing her clothes from the day before. He assumed that this was the source of the ghost laundry comment. Standing beside her, his hand rested on the back of her neck affectionately. His thumb brushed there softly before he decided to help her cook breakfast.

"The cats stay on the on the compound and help occasionally," he informed. "Although, I assume you didn't think it was ghosts."

"Of course not," Sakura babbled, her flushing face giving her deceit away. "Why didn't you tell us they were here though?"

"They didn't want me to tell Naruto. They wanted to see if he could figure it out," he explained, a small smirk on his face. "I would have told you, but it never came up."

Even after being told there were ninja cats, Naruto still didn't get that they were the source of mischief at night. Sasuke had to admit that concept was fairly humorous.

"Poor Naruto," Sakura mumbled with a sigh.

_**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **_

Morning slowly edged past, the three teammates settled in for breakfast. Naruto had his face buried into his arm, completely ignoring his meal.

"Just a couple bites?" Sakura reasoned gently with him. "You need to eat. It'll help flush away the fever."

"No," he answered her shortly.

"Drink your water then?"

"How about I get more medicine?" He asked, looking up hopefully. Sakura shook her head. He needed to flush out the medicine he'd already had if he wanted the drug fever to drop. He sighed unhappily, his face dropping.

Sasuke on his side of the table felt momentary blame. He, of course, was the one who had over medicated Naruto. Sakura, for her own reasons, had failed to tell Naruto that he had been drugged by Sasuke. Perhaps she didn't want to break Naruto's trust for him?

The front door opened and closed. Both Sasuke and Sakura looked up from their meal, listening to sure footsteps enter the dining room. A lone figure stood in the entry way.

"You prepared a team breakfast without me?" Sai asked, his head tilting. Naruto pushed his plate across the table, gesturing that Sai take it. Satisfied, Sai settled down at the table.

"I had to stay the night here," Sakura explained. "That's why we're all eating breakfast together."

"I heard. An insane female broke into your apartment. Hyuga Hinata apprehended the criminal last night," Sai informed blandly, poking his food with a fork. Whenever Sai encountered Ino, he was given more than an earful. He would listen patiently and try to tell Ino all he knew respectively. How Ino managed to become aware of everything was beyond Sai.

"She was the fiancée of the man we escorted. She had been under the impression Ugly had her ring."

Sakura shook her head, unable to believe her luck.

Meanwhile, Naruto felt heat crawling up his ears at the sound of Hinata's name.

"I take it your stomach is still in poor condition? Are red ears a symptom of this?" Sai questioned. Naruto nodded with a grunt. Sai continued his conversation. "And you have only two days left to live?"

"Yeah," Naruto moaned with a frown. "I was thinking though… really only today is left. Tomorrow at noon will have been a full week."

Unsympathetic to Naruto's worries, Sasuke began to mutter.

"Good. Then we will be free of this nonsense."

Naruto buried his face back into his hands. His stomach was being far too rebellious to break out into a fight.

In reality, Sasuke's true main source of annoyance was not the ridiculous death clock count down. It was his deception of his relations with Sakura. He would be relieved when tomorrow morning came, and he could tell Naruto the truth.

"What are your plans for today? Because I have a gift for you later," Sai explained to Naruto. "Something to celebrate your life."

Naruto smiled slightly, excited for a present.

"Hey, Sai's a good pal and getting me something. You two gonna join the band wagon?"

Sakura snorted and rolled her eyes. Sasuke muttered a soft, "Don't count on it."

Sticking his tongue out, Naruto turned his attention back to Sai.

"I'm going to go visit some people. See what's up…" Naruto trailed off. 'What's up' of course was his code for 'say goodbye just in case'. If he would have acknowledged that this was his true task, he surely would have broken down crying. He grew pensive, muttering softly to himself.

"I gotta be careful who I talk to...don't want to meet up with someone unexpected."

Sasuke raised a brow at the comment, but wasn't given time to ask any questions. Naruto stood up suddenly, despite his sore stomach.

"Gotta head out!" He grinned. His smile meant to be sincere, but it was thoroughly unsure. "I'll be home soon enough! Later!"

_**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **_

Naruto crept around the village, avidly hunting for a single man. A man with silver hair who always carried a porn book…who probably always had a lazy smile hidden beneath his mask.

Familiar with his former sensei's usual locations, it was only a matter of time before Naruto was able to locate him. In the center of a run down, rarely used training ground stood a large and overly abused tree. Reclining within that tree was none other than Kakashi. Engrossed into his book, he barely acknowledged the blonde climbing his way to the top to join him. Once Naruto was there, he gave him a casual nod.

"I assume you are here to say goodbye?" Kakashi teased lightly. Naruto only frowned in response.

"Settle down," Kakashi continued, turning a page in his book. "It's only a fortune card."

Naruto looked away, too bashful to explain his fears. In a rare moment of his life, he was left speechless. Kakashi eyed him before returning his gaze to his book. He didn't want any death talk, especially since the whole business of the matter was silly.

"By tomorrow we'll all be eating lunch together," Kakashi droned. "And you'll be sporting a bruise from Sakura for your foolishness."

Naruto gave a small grin, hoping Kakashi was correct.

"You're going to feel like an ass if I'm right though," Naruto countered. Kakashi snorted lightly.

"Maybe my money will comfort me in the event of your demise."

Naruto tilted his head and gave a long 'huh?' sound.

"There's a betting pool going on at the Hokage's tower over how you'll die. The most popular option right now is that Sasuke will kill you."

Naruto's eyes widened in horror. Kakashi casually turned the page of his book.

"My money's placed for an accident. I think the stage of Sasuke's life where he plots your death has passed."

"That's sick," Naruto grumbled, his tummy quivering far too much to even start yelling. Kakashi smirked beneath his mask, patting the top of Naruto's head lightly.

"For what it's worth, you've been a pleasure to train and work with."

Naruto eyes started to water, but he resisted showing how he truly felt. His face paled. He remained quiet. Still. Sensing the heavy cloud over the young man, Kakashi tried to change the pace of conversation.

"Life is a bit like a porno."

Naruto head snapped upward.

"Things get tense and wild. It lasts for awhile, but you can usually tell when the ending is coming."

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yes?"

"You're disgusting."

_**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**_

While Naruto wandered around the village, Hinata awoke from her unwanted sleep. Cursing herself and her body, she rapidly prepared herself. Her precious Naruto-kun may have very little time left in this world and she was sleeping? What was wrong with her? Furiously, she brushed through her long hair and dressed. Fumbling her way outside, she spoke good morning to no one. She had to reach the Uchiha compound immediately. At the gates, she was surprised to see Sai leaning against them.

He was sketching causally and looked up at her in very little interest.

"Good morning. I heard news that you caught the criminal who terrorized Ugly."

For a moment, Hinata didn't understand what he was talking about. Suddenly remembering the woman by Sakura's apartment, she nodded briskly.

"He's not here," Sai answered, perceptively knowing why Hinata had arrived. "He went out to visit people. His stomach is worse today."

Hinata felt her heart race faster. Blood paled away from her face.

"Do you know where he is?" she gasped, trying to gather herself. Sai shrugged with little interest.

"I'm not sure. I believe he will be difficult to find, however. He's avoiding someone."

Hinata's mouth fell into a frown. She knew she'd have to recruit her team's help to find Naruto in time.

_**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**_

The second person Naruto met up with was Yamanaka Ino and Choji. He hadn't been looking for them, but had come upon them by accident. At the sight of him, Ino's eyes began to water up. She embraced him, telling him he really wasn't _that _annoying. She never believed he was really _that _stupid. Naruto would have gotten emotional over the whole ordeal if he wasn't so insulted. He had little time left and she _still_ didn't care if she offended him?

Choji didn't speak at all and continued to munch on potato chips.

"Say, Ino, I have a favor… you know, just in case…" Naruto awkwardly transitioned, rubbing the back of his head.

"You want sex, don't you?" she guessed candidly. Choji started choking on his food. Naruto instinctively slapped his back, trying to relieve the tension in Choji's throat.

"I don't personally think I can, Naruto. I could ask some friends though."

Naruto's jaw dropped.

"No!" He argued, shaking his hands in the air.

"It wouldn't have to be romantic. It could just be really dirty sex."

"Stop! I don't want sex!"

Ino couldn't fathom why with so little time left to live Naruto wasn't after sex. Maybe he had already gotten some pity action? Eager to move from the incredibly awkward topic, Naruto jumped into his request for Ino.

"I'm pretty sure Sasuke's just being a butt… And he'll probably look after Sakura-chan. But if he doesn't… will you do it?"

Ino nodded, thankful Naruto's last request for her was so simple.

"Of course," she answered a small smile reflecting on her face. "You know I've always got Sakura's back."

From Naruto's experience, Ino was somewhat of a fair weather friend, but he wasn't about to argue with her. She embraced him a second time, promising that if he needed anything else she would surely help him out. Bashfully, Naruto began to excuse himself.

"I'll go with you," Choji suddenly spoke up. "We'll find Shikamaru and buy you some ramen."

Despite his sore stomach, Naruto couldn't possibly say no.

_**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **_

Bemoaning his poor, sorry state, Naruto fell onto the forest ground.

"I can't make it," he rasped to himself. "I can't go on."

He knew this was the moment. The sharp piercing pain in his stomach. The loss of vision. His inability to breathe right.

He was going to die.

That is, until he belched loudly into the ground.

"Never mind," he continued to talk to himself. "Just gas."

With that, he rolled onto his backside. With Choji and Shikamaru, he decided to eat to his heart's content. Especially since it may have been his last meal. He knew he probably shouldn't be overworking his stomach, but he couldn't resist free ramen. He ate until it was almost too painful to bear the load of his food. Then, he ate one more bowl.

As he lay still, he considered throwing up for a moment. Vomit in the forest really wasn't that big of a deal, was it? It was a pretty natural occurrence. Like bird poop. Before Naruto could work himself up into vomiting, Shino appeared from nowhere. He leaned against a tree.

"Hinata is looking for you," he spoke directly.

Naruto felt his stomach grow even more rebellious.

"Just.. a sec.." Naruto panted. "I'm trying…. Not… to… throw up."

Shino took very little pity upon him. His lack of sympathy towards Naruto made Sasuke look like a saint. Shino scoffed, almost as if he knew that Naruto had been overeating. Shino continued to speak.

"Are Hinata's concerns legitimate? No, they are not."

Naruto put his hands over his face, trying anything to drown out the sound of Shino's voice.

"Could you please go away? I'm trying to die here," Naruto snapped, eager to shut Shino up.

"You cannot die. You are immortal. Like a cockroach."

Naruto rolled onto his stomach. He hoped the pressure of the ground would help him some. Sadly, it did not.

"Can't you just let go of this grudge? Since I'm dying and all?" Naruto groaned miserably.

"No." Shino answered without any consideration. "Even after his criminal absence, Sasuke recognized me."

"Just let it go!" Naruto whined, wishing he could throw up all over Shino.

"You cannot demand forgiveness," Shino argued, unmoved. "Are you planning on moving from this location? I would like to tell Hinata I've found you."

Naruto moaned and pressed his face further into the ground. The last thing he wanted was to talk to Hinata when he was resisting throwing up. She may take his vomiting personally.

"Tell her I'll go visit her tonight at her house," Naruto decided, trying to get Shino to leave. Naruto didn't know the first thing about where Hinata lived in the Hyuga household, nor did he know how he was going to get to see her. Regardless, Shino was content with Naruto's answer and vanished.

Shino vowed to himself that if Naruto didn't show up to visit Hinata, he would punish the moron himself.

_**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **_

Naruto stumbled into Sasuke's house and landed directly on the floor. He didn't bother composing himself slightly. Sakura found him there, nudging him lightly with her hand.

"Are you okay?" she questioned, her eyes shimmering with worry.

"Ate too much," he answered, pulling himself into the fetal position. "I threw up in the forest though. Feeling a little better."

He was still more than certain he was going to die from his stomach.

"Come here," Sakura answered with pity. "I'll help carry you to the couch."

Naruto smiled at her as she helped him to his feet. Sometimes her extraordinary strength was a blessing. He leaned most of his weight upon her, not even caring that he probably smelled bad from vomiting. She eased him onto a couch before tucking him in with a blanket.

"You'll be a good mom someday, Sakura-chan," he mumbled, not bothering to look at her. She flushed from the compliment before patting his head and feeling his forehead temperature. He opened a single eye to observe her. A reddish pink spot marked her neck.

"Why do you have a bruise on your neck?" Naruto asked childishly. In reality, what he was gazing upon was a love bite. Sakura's hand flung up to cover the mark she had forgotten to heal.

"Oh it's nothing," she babbled, hoping Naruto wouldn't draw any conclusions about what or who she had been doing while he was gone. "Just a bruise from training."

Too close to death to care or maybe too naïve to know the difference between a bruise and a love bite, Naruto grunted and closed his eyes. He let Sakura fuss over him as he fell into a twitchy, discontented sleep.

He dreamt of only one person.

When he awoke from his long and discontented sleep, it was from Sai taking his pulse. He opened a single eye.

"You are alive," Sai informed him.

Naruto sat up, noticing how the sun had set. His stomach still ached and twisted… his head thick and groggy. He frowned to himself. His entire afternoon was pretty much wasted.

"Do not frown," Sai answered. Surely, he had read this comment in one of his books. "Would you like your present now?"

The corners of his mouth tugging upwards, Naruto nodded. Sai reached behind him, slipping a sheet of paper into Naruto's hands. Naruto admired the sketch, a small smile creeping onto his face.

In the picture, there was a fox with a sword in its mouth beneath a blooming cherry blossom tree. The fox appeared to be playing around a scarecrow.

"It's meant to represent our team," Sai informed. Naruto nodded in approval. "I came here yesterday to see if I could sketch your faces….I didn't like it as much."

"I get it… It's pretty badass," Naruto complimented as he continued to eye the paper. "Where are you?"

Sai tilted his head.

"I get that I'm the fox… Sasuke's the sword…Kakashi and Sakura are obvious…but where are you? You're part of the team too."

Sai's mouth twitched into something of a frown.

"It's flawed," he murmured lowly.

Naruto's head snapped up at Sai. Eager to comfort, he corrected him.

"No! No! It's great. You can be the ink on the page. Get it?"

Sai nodded, content with Naruto's conclusion. A smile eased onto his face. Perhaps, the smile was even a real one.

"Do you have any last requests for me?" Sai asked. "I figured you would since you did for Sasuke and Sakura."

Guilt instantly slammed into Naruto. He had left out Sai. He didn't mean to… and he certainly didn't want to insult him. Quickly thinking, Naruto babbled out an answer.

"Uh.. yeah! The ummm… The ramen stand!"

Sai watched.

"I need you to make sure the team keeps going to the ramen stand. Because…. If they don't… the business will suffer."

Sai stared.

"And we have to keep the tradition going!"

Sai grew pleased with the special task he had been given. He was touched that he was given a job of such upmost importance.

"Very well. I will see to it."

Then, he leaned forward and wrapped his arms tightly around Naruto in a warm, intimate hug. Naruto cried out in surprise.

"I feel this is a good hugging time," Sai answered, stroking Naruto's hair.

"Okay, okay. No more hugging!" Naruto flustered out. Sai removed himself with a nod.

The two remained still for a moment. Naruto's mind traveling to an obligation…

He had told Shino to make Hinata wait for him at her place. How was he to get into her room though? Surely, the snooty Hyuga clan would not want him visiting their heiress… especially when he wanted to be alone with her.

His mouth twitched… an idea forming in his head.

"Hey Sai," Naruto mumbled, rubbing the back of his head. "I got another favor to ask."

Sai leaned forward, more than read to listen.

_**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **_

**AN:**

**Nehh! We are so close to the ending now! Poor Naruto! ^_^ Only one chapter left. It'll be posted within the next 10 days… probably sooner. **

**Don't forget to review, please! **


	12. Part 12

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

_In what he believed to be his the final night of his life, the idiot resorted to criminal activity. _

Naruto leaned forward, preparing to use theatrics to entertain Sai into his final wishes. While the request wasn't impossible, it would require some manipulation for Sai to obey. Over his life, Naruto had learned that theatrics and successful exploitation went hand in hand. Sai waited for Naruto to begin intently.

"It's no secret I've always wanted to be Hokage," Naruto whispered with a hush of air. Sai leaned in closer, his eyes meeting Naruto's. Knowing his story was beginning to work, Naruto continued with his monologue.

"I originally wanted to be Hokage to prove my awesome ninja skills," Naruto continued, the truth blending into his story.

"But you are so terrible at the fundamentals..." Sai interrupted.

"Forget the fundamentals!" Naruto snapped, waving his hand. "I am the best."

Sai gave him a doubtful look. Choosing to ignore the look and move forward, Naruto continued.

"But I cannot prove my skill when there's no time left..." Naruto drawled. "So, I asked myself... What's the best way to prove my superior ninja skills?"

Sai leaned even more forward in anticipation.

"I've come up with a plan, you see," Naruto murmured. "But I need a partner to do it."

"Why not Sasuke?" Sai asked. Naruto paused, biting his lip in thought.

"Well... Sasuke has to keep his nose out of mischief..."

Sai's eyes widened. He couldn't fathom just what Naruto had in mind.

"You got my back though, right? Like a good friend?"

Naruto had picked correct, exposing Sai's weak point. Sai desperately wished to prove his finesse in learning social skills. In his mind, the best sign of such improvement would be proving his worth as a friend. Sai nodded adamantly. This caused a small smile to spread across Naruto's lips.

"Good... So to prove our ninja skill, we are going to break into the head Hyuga mansion."

Sai's jaw dropped ever so slightly.

"You see, it's really cool to break into there. Cuz their branch family guards the place and won't let anyone in. Plus, the Hyuga clan is regarded as being really skilled. So, being able to sneak past all of them is really badass!"

Sai tilted his head.

"What's our objective? Get to the centermost point of the house?"

Naruto shook his head.

"No. We need to get to Hinata. I mean everyone is going to be guarding her and her father, right? I'm sure as hell not going to visit him."

"And when we find Hinata?"

"Well, that means we win! Of course, she'll be scared we broke in. She'll probably think we're strangers there to kidnap her. I'll talk to her one on one so she won't get mad. Just give me awhile to calm her down..."

Sai thought the whole story sounded suspicious, but agreed to follow the plan with a firm nod.

At that moment, Sasuke walked into the entry way of the room. Naruto sat up instantly, trying to look as casual as possible. If Sasuke caught wind of the plan, he would certainly try to bring it to an end. Naruto found some irony that he had to hide criminal mischief from the former international criminal.

"What are you planning now, idiot?" Sasuke asked after a single glance.

"More parts of my will," Naruto answered, not really lying. Sasuke rolled his eyes, snapping his fingers at Sai.

"You need to get out. Sakura wants Naruto to nap until supper."

Sai grumbled something about Sakura not only being ugly, but bossy.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**

The sun dipped into the skyline as Naruto remained still on the couch. After Sai had been ushered out, Sakura had come back into the room, felt his forehead, and insisted he drank more water. He continued to sound his concerns for his health, but she wouldn't hear of it. With that, she left him to go prepare supper.

She promised some kind of soup her grandmother had given her for sore stomachs. Having met the crazy old bat earlier this week, Naruto felt doubt.

He lay still on the sofa, not quite sleeping but certainly not entirely awake.

The piece of him that was awake could vaguely hear the sounds coming from the kitchen. Sakura cutting vegetables as water boiled. Her voice lightly chattering to someone, then a reply would echo lowly. Even in his state, Naruto knew that Sasuke must have been helping Sakura cook supper. The sounds of their chatting soothed Naruto even further into his suspended state. Sakura giggled from the other room. Vaguely, he could hear Sasuke snort at something.

A small smile crept against Naruto's lips. He didn't have to know what was amusing either of them. Contentment washed over him just knowing that they were having fun together.

His suspicions were correct this morning; they were acting different.

Regardless of the cause, he sincerely hoped the soft chattering would last forever.

As far as he consciously knew, Sasuke and Sakura were not together, but a piece of him knew it. Some part of him knew they were a pair, even if he didn't grasp the pairing was an established romantic one. He could tell they'd stick together if he were gone. They would depend on each other.

Thus, he knew his request for Sasuke had been fulfilled. His smile grew.

However, yesterday's philosophy poked at him, burning away the smile slightly.

Why couldn't he handle giving Kiba his last request? It had been a simple one. A short sentence without much of a profound meaning.

Please make sure that Hinata-chan isn't too mournful.

Naruto's bottom lip pouted forward slightly.

He had said a nearly identical sentence to Sasuke in regards to Kakashi's habit of mourning. He had asked it of Sasuke so casually. Why couldn't he finish the sentence to Kiba?

Making matters worse, he was avoiding the problem within him. He didn't want to see Kiba at all. Or Hinata. He had been lucky that Shino had found him….. Except, maybe he wasn't. Maybe if he would have been found by Kiba he would have been able to speak that damn sentence.

But he knew he couldn't do it. Why, why, why.

He wasn't going to ask that anyone couple with Hinata. The request was only to look after her and help her cope. Yet, with Sakura he had been bold enough to demand care and a relationship. Sasuke ignored the relationship part, but he certainly would look after Sakura as a close friend.

Naruto still couldn't deny that he thought Sasuke and Sakura would be a cute couple. And he wished they would be, despite his own crush on Sakura.

So, crush and all, he still wanted them together. But, with Hinata he didn't even want anyone else to look after her.

Because if they looked after her… they would spend quite a bit of time with her. And anyone who spent time with her would surely realize…..

They'd realize how wonderfully illuminating she was.

His lips frowned.

And when they realized that she was wonderful, they'd want to be with her.

Naruto twitched slightly in his spot. He couldn't stand the thought at all.

Reality was prodding him. Hell, reality had been prodding him for days.

Sakura was a crush. Simple affection. Affection that was mostly channeled through close friendship. He found her attractive, but it obviously wasn't the budding of lust or love. Certainly, lust was a factor when he was in the onslaught of puberty. But now, as man… he felt nothing like that really. Maybe his entire feelings had been altered due to the return of Sasuke. Either way, he wanted her and Sasuke together.

Another giggle echoed and eased itself into the room.

Following this conclusion, he thought of Hinata. He couldn't give her away because she belonged to him too dearly… at least in his hopes. He knew she loved him, and that was why his inner self believed that she was his.

And he didn't want to give her up to anyone else…because her affection meant the world. He had friends before… he had many friends.

But no one loved him romantically.

His heart began to thud. Hard.

When she told him she loved him… he made himself forget for awhile. He had to bring Sasuke home, so he had no time to pay attention to Hinata.

From the other room, Naruto swore he heard Sasuke say, "That idiot."

Despite his attempt to bury the issue, Naruto found himself looking at Hinata when he thought no one else would notice. He found himself analyzing her. He wanted to observe her and understand her. He had to know why she loved him. How she could love him.

He also needed to know how he felt about her.

Naruto's toes began to clench and unclench.

She was lovely. So feminine and delicate….yet not weak. Hell, she could pound the crap out of anyone.

Except, Hinata didn't fight like that… she fought with grace and skill.

And no one had ever loved him simply. Unconditionally.

Even his close beloved friends of Sasuke and Sakura had to be won over. He had to win everyone over. He had to convince them to like him…but not her.

She just did.

There was an effect she had on him, as soon as he knew of her love. The effect was bipolar in nature. Her presence filled him with energy and playfulness. He wanted to play and talk with her…. But he was also considerate of not overwhelming her.

So, she also had cooling effect on him. Making him pensive and considerate.

Clearly, otherwise, he would not have been mulling how he felt about her while dozing on the couch.

As soon as he had Sasuke home, he should have tackled Hinata and demanded that they go hang out. But he didn't… because he wasn't going to lead someone on if he wasn't sure how he felt. So he repressed his desire to be alone with her.

His heart continued to pound percussively.

Never did he realize that suppressing his desire to spend time with her was suppressing his process of concluding how he felt about her.

So, when he was on a timeline like today, he was lost and confused. He naturally didn't know entirely how he felt about her. He didn't get to spend time with her. He never let himself draw the conclusions he needed. He resorted to considering his talk with Sasuke yesterday. What had Sasuke said love was?

You wouldn't know it until you thought it over.

It's a commitment, but it's more than that.

Their benefit over your own is key.

His heart's strong thudding… his guilt for not spending time with her… his concern for hurting her if he did spend time with her… his inability to even ask that anyone look after her… his jealousy of the thought of another with her… The fact he tried to watch her whenever he could…

Yes, Naruto knew the truth.

He was in the budding stages of love with Hinata… he had repressed it from growing.

What would he tell her when he saw her? What could he say to her?

What good came from knowing any of this if he had no time left to live?

His body dropped into sleep, finally finished with dozing.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

Hinata sat still, obediently at the edge of her bed. The sun had set merely minutes ago…a streak of orange still remained peeking somewhat over the horizon. She was playing a horrid round of the waiting game, hoping for Naruto's arrival at any moment. Her heart had been racing for hours in anticipation for his arrival.

How long would it take for him to come see her?

What if he dead on in the forest?

She sat forward in horror. Shino did say that Naruto looked like 'shit'. However, Shino did not see the radiant side of Naruto like Hinata did. More than once Shino had given her a doubting look, as if to question her judgment in devotion to Naruto. In reality, most of the people in her life had given her the look. Not that it mattered. Nothing could ever make her waver in fondness.

Something was wrong. Otherwise, he would have been here.

She didn't doubt that he'd come to visit her. He would keep by his word. If he had not arrived to see her yet, it was because he was unable to or he had other priorities before he saw her...

She stood up immediately, determined to find him. Her fists clenched, she rose to jump out of her bedroom window.

But what if he was on his way? It would be tragic if she disobeyed his wishes and left. Her muscles slackened, determination easing its way out.

She promptly sat back down on her bed again.

He probably had a few tasks…. He would be coming. His exact words had been that he would come visit her at her home.

Maybe, he had arrived at the entry way, but had been turned away. Her family most definitely would not approve of his presence in their household; even more so when he would try to be alone with the young heiress.

Hinata's fingers nervously played through her hair.

But Naruto would fight to see her…hopefully. He was always determined in nature. Nothing really set him back.

She leaned against her bed frame, eyeing the clock on the wall.

"If he's not here in thirty minutes, I'll go find him myself," she murmured softly to herself in determination.

Her fingers were shaking, but she was unaware. The only thing on her mind was concern for her beloved. Sitting and waiting was hideous. She would have been running top speed to find him, if it weren't for the constant reminder that he promised he'd come.

She continued to shake slightly, her face growing pale and cold. Her heart pounded, moving up from her throat into his ears. She hadn't bothered to eat all day. It wasn't her intention, but who could think of food when death of a loved one may be imminent?

Stressed and shaking, more blood drained from her face. Her blood sugar was growing too low, especially as her concerns began to spike more and more.

Familiar black dots began to cloud her vision. She attempted to resist her body's biological shut down, but nature overtook her will. She fainted backwards onto her bed.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

His eyes flicked back and forth beneath his lids. When he fell asleep, he felt instantly back into his dream state. His skin prickled in his sleep, making him shiver.

He dreamt of a soft touch, brushing across his cheeks...the sensation of lips.

The sweet sensation was over when a brush of a hand across his forehead awoke him. His eyes fluttered open to see Sakura bent over him, taking his temperature with the back of her hand on his forehead.

"It's going down," She murmured gently. "I think it helps you've been relaxing. Stress takes a stronger toll on a sick body than you are aware."

He stared up at her.

"Just go to bed after dinner," She continued to explain to him. "You'll feel perfect by morning if you do."

He didn't bother bringing up to her that he didn't think morning would come for him. He wasn't about to fight with Sakura if he didn't have long to live. Thinking he forgot his stupid timeline, Sakura gave him a gentle smile. She chattered more directions and explanations about medicine, but Naruto didn't care much. Instead, he was formulating words to say to Hinata when he snuck off to be alone with her. From behind them both, Sasuke entered the room.

"Dinner's ready," he spoke blandly. Well, not entirely blandly. Relaxed. If this calm and relaxed Sasuke hung around for too long, Naruto was going to loose it. He preferred when Sasuke was blatantly angry or sarcastic. At least, he was familiar with that kind of behavior.

Sakura stood, smiling at Sasuke. She left for the dining room, leaving the two males alone.

Sasuke moved to the edge of the couch. Then, he grabbed Naruto's arm to help the struggling nin up. Naruto's face faltered.

"Knock off this nice crap," He grumbled in exhaustion. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"I'll try my best to abuse you," he retorted sarcastically. This brought a small smile on Naruto's face. Good. This was the Sasuke he knew.

"So this soup..." Naruto trailed off.

"You'll hate it," Sasuke answered without Naruto asking. Naruto's face fell into a frown. He was hoping more grandeur for his last meal, but he once again resisted acting out.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

After supper, Sakura had promptly sent Naruto to bed. She wouldn't hear of him doing anything otherwise, especially considering the poor state of his stomach.

So he obeyed her, falling upon the top of the mattress. However, he resisted further napping by pulling out a sheet of paper. His pen etched across the surface, sketching out sentences to help prompt him in speaking to Hinata.

He hadn't expected to fall asleep, but a few hours later he was roughly awakened by Sai shaking him.

"It is midnight. A prime hour for mischief," Sai whispered to him.

Naruto stumbled to his feet. He ___really _shouldn't have been getting out of bed to sneak off to the Hyuga mansion. However, he refused to not follow through with his promise to visit Hinata. He'd get to her, even if he had to pay Sai to carry him.

Naruto was also thankful he had informed Sai of his plan. Otherwise, he would have slept through the night and broken his promise.

"I brought black clothes. I think it will benefit us during criminal activity," Sai whispered to Naruto. He handed Naruto a t-shirt. Naruto threw off his and pulled the new one on. Had he a mirror, he would have realized it was a stolen Sasuke shirt. Complete with an Uchiha crest on the back. Sai nodded at Naruto before handing him a black pair of pants. As expected, Naruto dropped his pants and placed the new ones on. He turned around and tucked the paper he had written upon in his pocket.

"Should we paint our faces with war paint?" Sai questioned. Naruto raised a brow, not even sure where Sai had gotten such an idea.

"Nahh.." Naruto whispered. "Let's just get going."

His stomach lurched strongly, causing his knees to grow weak. He resisted his biological need, pushing forward with his quest.

As it turns out, sneaking into the mansion wasn't the most difficult activity. Sai apparently had pumped someone for information on details of the place, but Naruto wasn't sure who. If he had to guess, it probably was Ino. That girl knew ___everyone's _business. However, Sai's informant hadn't told him where Hinata's bedroom was located. The two had nearly been caught twice looking for the room, but luck had been to their advantage. That, and Naruto and Sai exploited as many blind spots as they could.

Finding Hinata was a challenge. When the pair finally reached a far back edge of the mansion, they came upon a shut door. Marked above the door was Hinata's name and title. How bizarre it was to see a bedroom marked so formally, like an office. Naruto whispered softly to Sai to keep watch. Meanwhile, he eased himself quickly and silently into the bedroom.

His eyes adjusted to the darkness of her room. The room was large, but empty somehow. The room was decorated something neutral, like a fancy hotel room. The room left the impression that Hinata wasn't even allowed to express herself to her family in the simplest of ways.

His gaze searched and fell upon her bed. There, she lay with uneven breathing.

Naruto eased himself to the edge of the bed, afraid to awaken her. He tiptoed with precision, not daring to interrupt her well deserved sleep.

Whimpering in her sleep, Naruto watched as Hinata rolled over. Her eyebrows knitted close together in her sleep as she bit on her lips. Her long, silky hair spilled over her shoulders.

The heiress remained unaware. If only she had known he stood so close, her trauma and worries in her sleep would have subsided greatly. Nevertheless, she knew nothing of him. He watched her closely, making sure she was not moving into awakening.

She looked like a princess. He stared transfixed for a moment.

Her pale skin glowed in the bluish moonlight of the room, making her look ethereal. Her dark, long hair looked rich, falling across her shoulders and back. Her breath hitched in her sleep, making her full breasts rise and fall. So odd that such a petite creature was so well endowed.

He couldn't bear to awaken her. She would surely be pleased to see him and embrace him. He wished for it desperately…but he wasn't sure he could let go of her. If something were to go wrong with his health, it would be here as he held onto her.

He heart beat in his chest so loud, he was certain it would awaken her. His stomach lurched again.

He remembered the letter in his pocket and his plans to speak to her. But for whatever reason, he couldn't awaken her and read to her. Perhaps it was best if she just read how he felt? Wouldn't an embrace just make her heart ache more for him? It would be cruel to endear her to him if he was about to die.

His letter was sloppy, written with messy hand writing. He babbled throughout the letter, moving in a nonsensical pattern. The letter was half apologies. Things like how he should have spent more time with her. He wished he had been less cowardly, and if he had a second chance, he'd be bold and spend time with her until she grew sick of him.

As if she ever could.

He told her that she was special to him. That he was thankful that she loved him, especially when she embraced loving him without him begging her to. In a fair world, he would have had to beg to get her attention. Not the other way around.

The letter also told her how he couldn't ever share her. How he wanted to will someone to look after her, but he couldn't stand the thought of anyone else looking after her. Additionally, he confessed that he found no one else to be special like her.

She shivered in her sleep, whimpering out again. He noticed how no blankets covered her diminutive frame. His eyes traveled to the foot of the bed where a blanket had fallen, forgotten. He leaned forward and pulled up the blanket. Then, he covered her and tucked her in. As he hovered above her, he pressed a soft kiss on her cheek.

"Naruto-kun," she whispered softly, too deep in sleep to awaken. He smiled, thankful she spoke his name.

His fingers nervously brushed for the something tucked into his pocket. A special something meant for her. Removing the letter, Naruto tucked it beside her in bed.

He watched another brief moment, taking in a hitch of breath. She stirred softly as she tucked the blanket closer around herself.

Knowing it was best to leave, Naruto stepped away.

If he survived tomorrow, he was going to spoil her to celebrate his health. Satisfied with his choice, he eased his way out.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X **

While Naruto gazed affectionately at Hinata's sleeping form, Sakura's sleeping form was disrupted when her pillowed decided to sit up. She remained close against Sasuke, but her body alerted from him rising. Through her bangs, she sent a strong glare up at Sasuke.

"What?" she hissed, unhappy towards being awoken so abruptly. He sat alert as he listened into the night. Casting a downwards glance, he responded in a soft tone.

"It's quiet."

Sakura groaned. How could Sasuke in the dead of his sleep tell that anything was amiss? Furthermore, why was he waking her up to tell her it was quiet?

"It usually is quiet at night," she muttered with sarcasm. Pacifying her, he swept his fingers through her hair. Casting an alluring glance towards her, she instantly felt no animosity towards him. She crawled up closer against him and rested her face into his neck. His fingers remained entwined into her hair, stroking her.

"Naruto's not here," Sasuke whispered. An arm snaked around her waist to hold her in place.

"That's why you think it's too quiet?" She murmured, nuzzling her face into his neck. "He's probably just sleeping."

"I don't hear any snoring."

Sakura's eyes snapped open. Sasuke was all too right. If Naruto would have been home, his peaceful snores would have been echoing through the room. Even more incriminating was the fact that Naruto should have been annoying both of them. He believed he had only a single night between him and death. Certainly, he should have been hyperventilating and making dramatic scenes.

Yet, the Uchiha household remained silent.

Sakura sat up, looking over her shoulder to the door way.

"Want to help me find him?" she asked, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"I wouldn't even know where to begin looking at this time of night."

Sasuke had a point. Their warm bed was also making a point. Cuddling up and falling back asleep was a far more appealing idea.

But what if Naruto needed them? What if he wandered the streets, crying to himself? Whenever trauma came his way, he always wanted to surround himself with his friends. The fact he wasn't begging for her and Sasuke's attention concerned her. Worry shot through her system and instantly removed any sleepiness from her.

"I'm worried about him," she babbled honestly. "He might be getting into trouble or something."

Sasuke ran a hand through his hair. Part of him regretted even telling her that something was wrong. Now, he had to quell her concerns while ignoring his own.

The front door of Sasuke's house slammed open and shut. Sakura sprang out of bed, quick to investigate the happenings in the house. As footsteps made their way down the hall, Sasuke over heard Sakura's scolding of Naruto.

"Where have you been! Do you know how late it is? Sasuke and I were worried! Do you know how stupid it is to go out when you're sick!" She reproached.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan. I didn't mean to make you worry," Naruto apologized. Defeat and pain were evident in his tone. "I just went to visit Hinata-chan. Sai came with."

"Sai! You were out too? I expected better behavior from you. Why didn't you talk any sense into Naruto?" Sakura continued to reprimand.

Sasuke smirked from the spot in his bed. Sakura never missed a beat when it came to punishment and yelling. Both men with sent to their rooms after a quick but truly painful scolding. Then, Sakura returned to his room.

Sasuke nodded at her in approval. A small girlish smile crept to her face.

The wonderment of Sakura. One moment a strict mother figure, the next a blushing sweetheart.

She crawled back into bed, sitting herself upon Sasuke's lap. She pressed light kisses against his lips before she lay back down for rest. Moments after pulling away from a kiss, Naruto walked into Sasuke's bedroom.

He looked to Sakura, then to Sasuke.

"You two couldn't even wait to jump into bed until I was dead?" He muttered in disbelief.

Sakura's face flushed with words unable to escape her mouth. Sasuke's face remained blank, but a sense of pride towards being caught with Sakura swelled from within.

"I'm getting into bed with you two now. I'm scared of dying," Naruto began to inform. "I can't sleep without someone near. And don't you dare make fun of me, because you two couldn't do it either."

A brief fight was to follow, but Naruto's baby way was given into. Sasuke would have liked to solve the issue with violence, but he knew Sakura would get angry. Unwilling to displease her, he remained silent but glaring over the issue. Like a couple of nights before, Sakura settled in between Sasuke and Naruto to prevent fights.

Naruto's stomach churned wildly. It burned inside him, making him restless. He remained still, not wanting to toss and turn and provoke even more annoyance from his two close friends. He cast a glance at the pair, hoping they weren't cuddling. To his relief, they remained platonically close for him.

"My tummy hurts," he whimpered softly to Sakura. The sympathetic nurse patted his stomach softly, whispering encouraging words about how he'd feel better in the morning.

"Promise you two won't have sex while I'm sleeping?" He whispered softly. Sasuke grumbled something along the lines of 'I'm going to kill you'. In response, Naruto told Sasuke he shouldn't or Kakashi would lose the bet.

"I can't believe the Hokage made a betting pool over how you'd die," Sakura mumbled in half amusement.

"I can't believe my time is coming, and none of you care," Naruto pouted.

Sasuke rolled away from them, hoping the evening would come to an end soon. All the while, Naruto's stomach continued to rebelliously anguish him. He was certain he felt the cold hand of death upon him.

His breath uneven, he regretted not embracing and awakening the precious girl who held his love letter on the other side of the village.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**

Sai awoke from his spot on the couch, his heart beating unusually fast. The sun had risen, streaking the room with light.

"It is peculiar," he whispered to himself. "I do not usually grow this excited."

The source of excitement was born of one fear. A fear the Sai himself could not properly express. This was, of course, the fear of discovering that the stomach illness had taken Naruto in the night. Sai would be left lonely, missing the penis lacking blonde he had befriended first. He knew Naruto was a special person. He could make the more inept, the most temperamental, and the angriest of people into friends.

Sai eased himself down the hallway, nervous he would find Naruto's body. However, he reasoned to himself that he was the most adept to finding Naruto's corpse. Sakura would be scared too deeply, and Sasuke was already too disturbed from seeing death up close. Clearly, Sai would be the optimal choice.

Yes, Sai was such a strange person that he established order over who could find corpses.

First, he looked into Naruto's bedroom. However, the room lay empty.

Then, he looked into the room that Sakura was supposed to be sleeping in. Once again, the room was empty.

The final bedroom he searched was naturally Sasuke's. Easing the door open, Sai found the three friends all in bed together.

Perhaps they had a threesome relationship going and they were too ashamed to tell him?

Sakura lay in the middle on her side. She faced Naruto, probably because she had been watching over him at night. Behind her, Sasuke had wrapped his arm around her.

Sai believed the term for their position was 'spooning' but he'd have to look it up to be sure later.

His gaze fixed upon Naruto. The blonde lay on his back with his mouth open. His chest did not rise or fall. He did not stir in the slightest.

Sai's heart stopped. His stomach dropped.

Could it have been true? Was he really gone?

More nervous that he had ever felt before, Sai edged himself close to Naruto. His fingers pointed outwards in preparation to take his pulse. His fingers rested upon cold skin.

Suddenly, Naruto let out a snort and rolled over. He groaned into his pillow.

Beaming, Sai realized that the curse had been wrong. Naruto was not meant to die. In fact, he would go on living, pestering, and befriending all he found. In his joy, Sai launched himself upon Naruto. Naruto cried out in shock, not expecting to be awakened by Sai's embrace.

"I am so pleased you are alive," Sai informed.

He ought to express his affection more. Naruto would be offended if he did not act as a friend properly.

So, Sai laid his mouth directly upon Naruto's in a warm, wet kiss. Naruto screamed and pushed Sai off. Sai landed roughly upon the floor, wondering once again what he had done so wrong in social etiquette.

"Why the hell are you KISSING ME!" Naruto shouted, whipping at his mouth in fury. Sakura snickered beside him, clearly more entertained than Sasuke. One of the most unique ways to way up was to see Sai and Naruto kissing. Sai sat up, tilting his head.

"Isn't it common to kiss someone in affection?" He asked.

"Not if it's two guys!" Naruto reprimanded.

"But Ino said you kissed Sasuke once!" Sai argued.

The entire room fell silent, both Naruto and Sasuke's faces growing hot. Sasuke babbled out how Naruto was a clumsy moron while Naruto shouted that he only fell.

"Strange to think I'm the only one on team seven now who hasn't kissed you, Naruto," Sakura teased, rubbing in his kiss from Sai even further. If there was ever a week Naruto deserved punishment from an unwanted kiss, it was this week.

Sasuke, who had tried his best to ignore the antics in his bedroom, suddenly had his ears perk up. He sat up, shooting a glare at Naruto.

"You lied to me?" He hissed with a raised brow. His tone vibrated incredibly low. Sakura, being a clever, instantly drew conclusions.

"You told Sasuke we kissed?" She cried out in fury and horror. Her fist uncontrollably clenched and made instant contact with Naruto's jaw. As he fell back against a wall, a sense of irony rushed over him.

Tenten's prediction that he would die had been wrong.

However, Kakashi's prediction that Sakura would hit him on the face was right.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**

_Thus, the idiot ventured outward. He left to confront the fortune teller for her vastly incorrect reading. He felt foolish for his behavior for the week. His shame evolved into anger, which he misplaced upon the poor girl. _

Naruto waited patiently outside the village gate, his face hot in annoyance.

Tenten was returning today and as soon as she did she was going to receive an earful.

The unfortunate Tenten jogged up to the gate, smiling as she saw Naruto. Her team looked at her briefly, but she waved them onwards. She felt small disappointment all week that she hadn't finished Naruto's tarot card reading. She was going to offer him a new one in hopes she could complete one for him.

Naruto gave her a strong, frightening glare.

"Did Sasuke teach you how to make that?" She pointed at his face.

Naruto's face flushed, anger rising within him.

"Those stupid cards of yours ruined my week!" he instantly began to shout.

Tenten's face fell into a frown. She had meant to entertain Naruto, not hinder him.

"I'm sorry Naruto," She bowed her head respectfully. "I hadn't meant any problems for you."

"You didn't mean any problems! Then why did you make that stupid death prediction? Huh?" Naruto accused, his finger pointing at her. Tenten's jaw dropped.

"I…I don't know what you mean…" Tenten stammered. The entire conversation was taking an unexpected twist.

"That stupid death card!" Naruto grumbled in frustration. Tenten's eyes widened as she brought her hands to her mouth.

"Oh!" She gasped, feeling guilt that Naruto had so vastly understood.

"Yeah! I thought I had seven days left! I had to write a damn will! I had to live with Sasuke!" Naruto cried out, grumbling the faults of his week. Tenten didn't really understand what he meant by his rambles, but she listened patiently out of respect.

"Naruto, honey, the death card doesn't mean literal death," she corrected tolerantly.

"Obviously!" He retorted. "Since I'm not dead!"

"The death card only means change, Naruto," Tenten continued to explain, hoping he calmed down some after he understood. In reality, she had no clear plan on how to remedy this situation with Naruto. "Transitioning to a new state. Eliminating old patterns… The end of a cycle."

Naruto gave her a long look.

"Get it?" She asked in attempt to sound nice.

"Well," Naruto began to whisper. Then his voice jumped into a full on shout. "Why didn't they just name it the ending cycle card? Huh?"

Tenten stood still, completely confused by this bizarre encounter.

"This week was hell you know! I had to run around accepting my mortality!"

"I'm sorry for any strife you felt," she answered nicely, her hands held up in the air. If she didn't think Naruto was such a kind guy, she would have clobbered him for being such a moron and blaming her.

"And nothing has changed! Your cards are full of crap!" He continued to rant.

"I'm sure if you look around you'll notice a lot of things are different. If not, I'm sorry for any stress I've caused you," she explained with an uneasy smile. "But I have to get going Naruto. We'll discuss this more some other time."

"What the Hell Tenten!" Naruto cried in frustration, watching as the young lady jogged off.

"Bye Naruto!" She called, her cheeks hot from the weird meeting. "We'll meet up sometime soon to train, okay?"

"Like hell I wanna train with you!" Naruto yelled at her back side. He gave a huff of frustration. Not only was he upset about a wasted week of worry, but he had also proved Sasuke right. And he hated when Sasuke was right. Moving to grumble his way back to the Uchiha compound, a single cry stopped him in his tracks.

"Naruto-kun!"

It was a high, nervous cry. A familiar, feminine sound. Hinata had finally found him. She stood behind him, still.

Smiling gently to himself, Naruto turned around to face her.

His embarrassment for his foolishness of the week was immediately forgotten. His bad mood was instantly washed away, replaced with an excitement for Hinata. He looked upon her, forgetting all of his troubles.

Her pale complexion was disturbed by a hot pink flush. Perhaps Hinata was the most pronounced person on earth when it came to blushing. Her eyes were wide with confusion and something like fear or excitement. She stood still waiting for him to speak. Her lips were stuck, unable to spill out any words.

In her hands, was the love letter Naruto had tucked into bed with her.

"So you read my letter?" He asked, ushering her from her silence. She nodded in response. His smile slowly grew.

"And did it make you happy?" He continued. She nodded again, her face glowing from hot pink to red. His smiled cracked into a full on grin.

"Good," he said with a small chuckle. Suddenly full of a strong relief, he stepped forward and whipped her into a strong hug. She let out a small cry of surprise and shyness, but he did not remove himself from her. Instead, he seemed to hold on tighter. He chucked again, his eyes closed from power of his strong grin.

He felt thankful. Just last night he was wishing he had more time to dote on Hinata. Now, he had plenty of time to devote to her.

"I'm happy you're okay, Naruto-kun," she began to babble. "You worried me. It was awful to go looking for you this morning."

"Sorry, Sorry…I'm not going to die though! I promise I won't worry you anymore, Hinata-chan. I'll be a good man for you."

Her blush seemed to overpower her, nearly making her faint. Her cheek fell upon his shoulder, indicating her lightheadedness. Knowing her tendency to faint, Naruto swung her up into his arms. Carrying her bridal style, he offered her a warm smile.

"Eh, you're always so lightheaded Hinata-chan," He teased her, rubbing his forehead against her own. Her eyes widened, but she did not dare move herself away.

In fact, she brought herself closer. In an unexpectedly bold move, she pressed a warm, gentle kiss against his lips. Naruto was taken aback for a moment before he returned affection with equal enthusiasm. He caught her bottom lip in his mouth and sucked on it softly, extending the kiss even further.

If it were at all possible to die from bliss, Hinata's life would have ended at the precise moment.

Naruto continued to kiss her, nestling her closer to himself. He pulled away briefly eyeing her with care.

"Come on, Hinata-chan. Let's go grab something to eat so you won't be light headed. How about ramen? My treat!"

Her arms wrapped around his shoulders to support herself. Tucking her face against his neck, she affectionately began to nuzzle him.

"Ramen sounds nice," she whimpered against him softly, still overwhelmed by the heated kiss. He laughed, overjoyed.

He continued to carry her, begging her unceasingly to spend her entire day with him.

_And the idiot returned to his universal destination. He journeyed with his beloved in tow for ramen. As always, he learned absolutely nothing and remained a completely hopeless moron. _

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**

**I always intended there to be NaruHina in this fic, but I wanted to have a little suspense towards it. ^_^ since there was no suspense that it'd be a SasuSaku fic. **

**Okay, I just love NaruHina now. I've always liked it, but now it's a true favorite. It's just so adorable! He's just so aggressively affectionate! And she seems so delicate, but we all know she can take his affection! Ahh! It's so cute! **

**So, expect more NaruHina in the future. ^_~ This fanfic converted me into wanting to write more. **


	13. Epilogue

Seven years passed after the horrid seven days that forced Uzumaki Naruto to write his last will and testament. Since then, he had left the Uchiha residence. The house did not lay empty, however. The hallways were not bare.

A dark haired child padded his way quickly through the hallway to his parents' bedroom. A red and white fan branded the back of his shirt. Despite them being only down the hall, the six year old felt that the journey was a long, frightening one. When he reached the door, he knocked quickly and pressed his ear to the wood. His mother was always emphasizing the importance of knocking, and even in his frightened state he obeyed.

Through the door, he heard his mother softly call out, "Come in, honey."

His quick feet leaped across the bedroom floor and onto the large overstuffed bed. Crawling between his parents' embrace, the boy nestled up to his mother. She sat up against the head board, brushing her pink hair from her face to rub her eyes. After a moment, she acknowledged her son by stroking his hair from his face.

"What's wrong?" She whispered kindly.

"There's a girl in my closet," The boy concluded with a serious face. Turning away from his mother, he poked his father's cheek for attention.

"Honey, your father just got home awhile ago. He's sleepy," she murmured while pulling his hand away from the sleeping adult. With some victory, the boy watched as his father's eyelashes blinked awake. Knowing not to speak to until his father spoke first, the boy waited attentively. His father groaned and pressed his face into the pillow. Rolling over, he sat up in bed.

"Deactivate your sharingan, son," His father spoke in a low, sleepy tone. "You don't need it."

"Huh?" the boy asked, tilting his head to the side. In his anxiety and fear for the specter in his bedroom, his sharingan had activated accidentally. He had not noticed his eyes bleed red, nor the black tomes spinning… his fear had prevented him from noticing how his eye sight completely had changed.

The child blinked dramatically, but was unable to deactivate his eyes. The child watched his father blink his own on, and then turn it off. Following his elder's example, the child deactivated the bloodline. His eyes reflected their natural green once again.

The boy knew he had developed the trait early in life, but he remained unable to control it reliably.

"Good," his father concluded with a pat on the child's head.

"Our house is haunted… And there's a ghost girl who lives in my closet." The son whispered fearfully to his father. His father tried to patiently listen.

"Son, where did you get an idea like that?" He responded tiredly.

"Uncle Naruto said that he used to sleep in my room," the boy explained. "And when he did there was a girl in the closet… and he asked if I ever saw her."

"And did you before tonight?" His mother asked, trying to lead her son to his own conclusion.

"No! But I never watched for her either!"

"Uncle Naruto is an idiot. Never listen to him," His father responded, pressing his face back into the pillow. The boy watched in fascination as his mother roughly flicked at his father's cheek.

"If he's an idiot, how come he's Hokage?" The boy asked, befuddled by his father.

"Because the entire village is full of idiots..." the boy thought he heard his father grumble into the pillow.

"Sasuke…." His mother warned with a hiss. Turning to her son, she gently ran her hand along his face. "Honey, you were just having a bad dream. I promise."

"But Chidori says she sees them too!"

"You shouldn't scare your little sister with ghost stories. Both of you are imagining things."

The child frowned, not sure if he should believe his mother. Looking somewhat overwhelmed, he turned to his father for attention.

"Bed time story?" He asked, hope hinting into his voice. His father's sleepy eyes looked into him.

"Will you sleep better?" His father asked, willing to pamper the child. He would to do anything to sooth the boy into sleep. The boy nodded with excitement.

Sitting up, the man pulled his son into his arms. As he carried the boy back to his room, the child leaned over his father's shoulder to wave goodnight to his mother. Smiling, his mother laid down to capture some of her own sleep.

As he was carried down the hall, the boy whistled allowed. His family had several ninja cats, and a select few could be found within the home. Often, the boy would find comfort in sleeping with the animals that had been bred and trained to protect him. Much to the child's delight, a cat followed them from down the hall.

As his father tucked him in and the cat settled beside him, the boy tried not to get too excited for story time. His father always had the best bedtime stories.

"What do you want to hear tonight, Ras?"

"Anything."

His father settled himself onto the floor and leaned against the bed. He eyed the closet for a moment, remembering a time when a different loved one had slept in this room. He remembered how the young man was constantly pestering him that week, always talking about ghosts. According to his child, that young man now grown _still_ believed there were ghosts in the household.

Smiling slightly at his anxious son, the father began his bedtime story.

"_Once upon a time, there was an idiot."_

The boy tilted his head curiously, wondering how his father conjured such strange tales.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**

**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**

**Sasuke luvs his baybuhs! Awww! **

**So, if you go back to the beginning of the chapters throughout this fic, you will find clips of what Sasuke tells his child before bed! Sasuke's words are always in Italics in paragraphs. **

**Of course, he will edit some parts of the story so it's appropriate for children. For example, when Sasuke is referencing the party, he never explicitly states that alcohol is involved. There's also a more philosophical tone in his version of the story, so as to teach lessons. At times, Sasuke will also leave out entire chunks of the story. **

**I am seriously going to miss writing this story. I want to thank all my reviewers who helped get me off my ass and write it! Nothing is more rewarding than to share each new chapter! ^_^ Thank you so much! **

**Even though this fanfic is over, I promise more are coming. ^_~ **


End file.
